Plan A.v.A.
by AvA-181
Summary: !!!!CHAP 11 NOW UP!!! This fic is now complete! .This is my version of a season tie between season 4 and season 5. It includes all of the characters. Please R&R. Its pg13 for language,violence. Enjoy!
1. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

This story takes off from where the last season 4 episode of My Two Bobs left off, with Bob and Matrix in one corridor of the Principle office, Andrea and Mouse in another, Ray's whereabouts uncertain, Dot with Hack and Slash, and Enzo captured by the new and improved Megabyte, along with Phong and Mr Matrix (the Null robot heh) under the controle of Megabreath. Couldn't wait for them to put the next group of episodes together, so im doing my own ending while I wait for MainFrame productions. legal junk: ReBoot is owned by MainFrame productions, Canada (YEAh CANADA! teehee) as well as all names used. 

First ReBoot write up, so go easy on me if I get the lingo/times wrong hehe. 

This is the time scale I used, as presented by Megan, another Fanfic writer: 

**Time Scale**  
Nanosecond: one second  
kilisecond: one minute  
Milisecond: one hour  
Cycle: one day  
Second: Week  
Minute: one month  
Hour: one year 

**Plan A.v.A. ** By Corrinthia Brueckner (aka A.v.A.)

**Part 1: A Sprite for a Sprite**

****

Dot stood there, watching the screen, her mouth open in a silent gasp as she listened to the crackling static coming from her headset in one ear and the words of the vengeful virus seeping into her other ear. She could distantly hear Hack and Slash arguing about what to do, but her attention was focused on the penetrating eyes on the screen. He was talking to her, and a chill made its way jaggedly across her spine as he presented her, and the rest of the small system, with his thirst for vengeance, his thirst for the hunt.

Though in complete silence, her mind was making enough noise to drown out Hack and Slash. She was already thinking, devising, and coming to grips with the situation. As she listened to that low arrogant laugh sputter from behind the serrated teeth of the virus, her leather gloved hands clenched tightly to her planner. She began to think of all the things that this virus had put the system through. The fighting, the wars, the crash. He had cost her so much; her brother, her father, her friends, her home, and Bob. Bob. That virus had made her betray him again. Bob. The only one in Mainframe who actually wanted to give that virus a chance. No! no more chances, no more pain, no more time. This ends now!

Her anger escalated until the sound of her grinding teeth halted the argument between Hack and Slash. They stared at her before exchanging glances between each other, shrugging, then back to Dot.

"Uhhm. Sir Mam!"

"Yah! Dot.. what are we.."

"We must be doing something"

"Oh ya, defiantly something. Hide?"

"Hide? no! we can not hide! run."

"Run? you want we should run Dot?"

"Dot? want we should run or hide?.. i am thinking we hide"

"But you just said run."

The two bots fell silent as they got no reply. Then the virus came back onto the screen to make the decision for them. A deep grin slithered its way across his face. He took a pause to chuckle, possibly at his own arrogant brilliance. He looked down at the screen, giving the watchers a close up view of his razor bladed crocodilian smile.

"Oh, and by the way, Miss. Matrix" Megabyte paused to make sure he had her complete attention, which he had since the beginning. He smiled again before continuing. "Miss. Matrix, I seem to have something rather interesting in my new collection in the Principle office control room, something…that may be of interest to you as well." he chuckled darkly and moved the view over to the center of the room. There in the center sat Enzo, surrounded by bynome drones. Enzo looked up at screen for a moment, then to the Virus.

"Your gonna be sorry Megajerk! My sister, and… and Bob, and… and Matrix are going to burst through those doors and nullify you any nano!" Enzo was cut off as Megabyte reoriented the view on the monitor.

"Spunky, isn't he?" The virus grinned menacingly. "Would hate to be forced into making him into one of my less..lively..drones, wouldn't you agree hmmm?. But, it seems I have no choice..hmmmmm?" He paused again with a razor smile. "What do you say Miss. Matrix, a trade? You come to the Principle office for a….chat..and I _may_ release the boy. if not.." he lost all pleasantness and unfurled his golden claws. 

"He wont live long enough to become a drone! You have one millisecond to show up at my door!" After a dark growl followed by that every present chuckle, the view screen clicked off and bleeped out of the hall, leaving Dot standing there, shaking her head. She then nodded to herself as something in her brain clicked.

"So uhm, Dot..what we do now"

"ya what we do? Run?" Hack and Slash drummed there fingers nervously as they waited for a reply with a questioning glance.

Dot turned suddenly to them with a dark smile to rival Megabytes. "I have a plan." She taped on her planner and began to explain as best as she could to the two, working quickly to get her plan on the go.

******* *** ************* ***********

"We have to find the others. We have to find Dot before she does anything..rash" Bob fumbled out at Matrix as he began running down the corridor. Matrix took a deep chested breath as his large shoulders rose and fell again. He began to trudge down the hallway after Bob, his big clunky boots echoing through the corridor.

"Dot? rash? She's probably waiting for the two of us now to make a show."

"I don't think so Matrix, not this time."

"How do you know?" Matrix has to put on the full brakes as Bob stopped suddenly to face him.

"Dot has been acting rash lately Matrix, ever sense Daemon. Right now I wouldn't put anything past her. Plus, that Virus has Enzo, her _little_ brother. He is all she has left to help her remember what a normal life was once like."

"Yah, guess I'm just the constant reminder of how much of a screw up this data stream has been" Matrix mumbled roughly.

"No Matrix, you're a reminder of what she did. She blames herself for you loosing that game, for being forced to grow up so quickly, so rough. She loves that little boy in there, and she loves you too, Enzo. In a way, she needs both of you."

Matrix cringed slightly at being called Enzo again after so long, but nodded as he understood the underlined meaning in Bob's words. With out another sound he ran off down the corridor to get to Dot as soon as possible, all kinds of rash ideas that Dot might do now flooding his mind.

********

"Cursors!" Mouse fumed over the control panel. "I've tried everything. He must of completely cut off the door power." 

"Well we're no good here." AndrAIa looked up at the large door blocking their path. "We should make our way to the other side of the central office to find Dot and the others." 

"Sounds good sugah." Mouse stood and began to walk down the corridor. She stopped and looked at AndrAIa who still stood staring at the door. "You alright?" 

"Just thinking about what Phong did for us." AndrAIa lowered her head slightly and turned to start walking. 

"That was very courageous of him." Mouse nodded. AndrAIa nodded slightly in agreement. "Don't worry sugah, we will return the favour before this is all over with." 

"Your right." She nodded again and then quickened her pace. "Alright, lets find the others." 

************** 

"But you said we should wait"

"Now I say we go"

"But if we go and they come then we wont be here, we would be elsewhere"

"Yah, anywhere but here"

"Dot said find Bob"

"Bob is not here"

"Then we should go"

"That is correct"

"Uhm, Hack?"

"Yes Slash?"

"Uhm, to which way do we leave?" Both of them looked down the several corridors that led from the junction they were in. They scratched the top of their heads for what seem kiliseconds, pondering the direction. Then something caught Slash's attention.

"Uhm Hack"

"What now Slash? you know which way we are going?"

"No, but I am hearing something"

"I do not hear anything"

"Nothing?"

"that is correct" Then the thumping got louder as it neared them.

"oo now I hear". They looked down the corridor, their metallic parts shaking slightly, waiting for some kind of impending doom. Then Matrix and Bob appeared out of the darkened corridor, their face slightly flushed from running. The bots looked at each other, then they looked to the two running and shouted in unison.

"Bob! Enz..Matrix!"

"I told you we should wait!"

"you said we should go!"

"I said wait!"

"go!"

"wait!"

"Go!"

"WAIT!"

"GO!!!" Bob and Matrix finally reached them and took a pause to catch their breath, giving each other a raised eyebrow as the two fought. Matrix grinded his teeth after a few moments, having heard enough.

"Alright you two! Where's Dot?"

They looked at each other for a moment then just shrugged. 

"Dot? who is that?"

Do you know a Dot? 

Oh no, no Dot do I know. You know a Dot? 

"I do not think I know a Dot. 

"What is a Dot anyway?"

"Come on you two, we don't have time for games. I know she was with you, now where did you go?" Bob asked more peaceably than Matrix.

"Dot is um…"

"Who is this Dot?" Hack still played along these lines, leaving Slash to fend for himself.

"Dot is not here."

"I can see that. Where is she?" Bob asked again, frustrated.

"She? She who?

"Dot, dummy! Bob wants to know where Dot went!"

"I know that Slash, but Bob isn't supposed to know where she went!"

"Well Bob knows that we know now!"

"How do you know that bob knows now that we know now what we know about Dot?"

"Because you just told me." Bob sighed. "Now where is she?" The two bots looked at each other, lost, and then just shrugged at Bob and said in unison "Dot who?"

"I've had enough!" Matrix growled as he picked up the two bots, one in each arm and pinned them against the wall. "Where is she?! You better tell me before I give the Principle Office a pair of nice red and blue waste disposal units!"

The two bots looked at each other and gulped, then in unison lifted their left arm and pointed down one of the corridors: the corridor that led to the central command room. Matrix dropped the two bots to the floor and took off, Gun already in hand. Bob shook his head and looked at the two for a moment before creating a portal to go directly to the command room. The two bots looked at each other as they got up.

"Big Enzo was mad"

"That is correct."

"I think Bob will be angrier when he finds out."

"That is defiantly correct"

"When do we give him this?" Slash held up Dot's planner. Hack just hit his head, knowing Slash was supposed to have given that to Bob already. He zipped down the corridor as Slash looked at him.."What?"

******* ******** ******** *********

The soft drumming could be heard echoing through the ears of every bynome in the room. Each rhythmic pulse sent a small shiver down their circuitry. They may have been loyal to him, but they knew that at any moment that drumming could be the last sound that they heard. It would get faster as his patience grew ever more thin, then slow back into a steady rhythmic beat as a sinister smile slide its way across his face. He would chuckle slightly with one passing thought or another, waiting for her to arrive.

Enzo sat on the cold floor, and listened to that beat. It was driving him slowly insane. He peered through the hazed mesh of the force field that surrounded him. He glanced at Phong, who was now so distant, so still, gray and lifeless. Phong had been turned into a drone, and so had Enzo's null father. Enzo looked behind him at his father who stood as motionless as Phong, unable to move without direct orders from their new master, the virus. Enzo began to wonder what was taking them so long to bust in the joint, take down Megabreath, and save the day. *_They must be planning something wicked to do to ole Megajerk*_, he thought. That line of thought would be brought to an abrupt end as the steady drumbeat of the virus's claws on the desk was interrupted by three hard knocks on one of the doors. Enzo watched as the virus turned his chair to the door and looked at it with a deep and sinister grin, pushing a keypad to open the heavy doors.

"Do come in Miss. Matrix, We've been expecting you." The words slid out like a serpent's tongue across his smile. He looked at Dot as she stood in the door way, alone, to his surprise. "Clever girl, not to bring that pesky guardian or that empty headed brother of yours, or just brave perhaps hmmmmm?" He watched her with a grin as she slowly made her way into the room, catching each expression that passed across her face as she looked from Phong, to her father, to Enzo. He was again surprised at how calm she appeared. He sized her up again as she turned his way.

"Alright Megabyte, I'm here, to talk. Now release my brother."

"oh, so confident are we? What makes you think that now that I have both of you I will be letting either one of them go?"

"Because I am the one you want, the Command.com. I am willing to talk and to cooperate with you if, and only if, you release Enzo now."

"Cooperate fully hmmm?" The virus thought for a moment. "And let me guess, if I don't release the boy, you will resist me to the last? I could just make you a drone, and then you wouldn't be able to resist me at all. What bargaining chip do you have against that Miss. Matrix?"

"The system will not respond to a drone Megabyte, even you know that."

"Very good Miss. Matrix, cant blame a virus for trying, can you?" he shot a sinister chuckle her way. "And what will keep you so cooperative after the boy is out of danger?"

"Simple" Dot stated, clear, unflowered, and unemotionally. "You are a Virus, a virus in _my_ system. You want to leave this system, fine. Promise to never set one single claw in Mainframe again virus, and I will help you to get out of my system as soon as possible."

"Even free onto the net?" He pushed her to respond, tasting victory on his lips, the back of his mind in wonderment at the new Dot standing before him. So much had changed.

"No Dot! Don't! You cant! If he gets free on the net, there will be no stopping him. Dot! I'm not worth it, really! there's another way!" Enzo beat his fists against the force field in a loud protest. Dot looked over at him for a long time, something in her eyes speaking to him in a way only a sister can talk to a brother. Enzo fell deathly silent, and then just shook his head, his mouth open in a silent acknowledgement of the reality of the situation. Dot slowly tore her eyes from those of her brother and turned back to the virus in her system. 

"Wellllllll Miss. Matrix?" his razor toothed grin grew as he slid out the words.

Dot took a single, long and drawn out breath as her mind raced. She was thankful that the virus couldn't hear her heart thumping heavily in her chest, and into her throat. She clenched both fists again and closed her eyes.

"Yes, Megabyte, I will cooperate." Her spine cringed as the room is filled with the dark deep chested laughter from the virus. The laughter seemed to draw on forever, each passing nano her soul becoming ever more filled with uncertainty. A wave of relief flowed into her core as the laughter ended and the virus barked out an order.

"Show the boy out." The motionless drone of Mr. Matrix came to life as he followed the orders, taking the wiggling and protesting Enzo out into the hallway and shutting the doors again. Dot stood there in silence, her eyes closed, listening to the painful protests from her brother. *_For you*_ she thought, and then cringed as she heard the door shut. She could feel the eyes of the Virus searing deep into her. She took another breath and opened her eyes to see a full row of silver razors grinning at her.

"So Miss. Matrix, where do we begin?"

******* ******** *********** ***********

"Ow! what in the net?" Bob hit hard against the ground as he fell out of a portal just outside the door to the Principle Office command room. As he looked up, an expression of shock and confusion covered his face. "Enzo?"

"Bob! Finally! What took you so long? So what's the plan? what's going on?" The young sprite looked over Bob with a quizzical face.

"Enzo, how did you get out of the office? And have you seen Dot? or Matrix?" Bob got up and brushed himself off with a slight groan, feeling a slight tinge in his back from the fall. He looked down at Enzo who was staring at him with a _did you hit your head too_ look.

"Dots in the Principle office. This is part of your plan right? Oh please tell me its part of your plan!"

"Dot is what?!" Bob looked behind him as Matrix ran up. Matrix looked at Enzo. "Dot is in there, alone, with Megabyte?"

"I thought it was part of a plan! She traded herself to Megabreath for me! Are you telling me you don't have a plan!" Enzo's voice reached a new level of shrillness as a full wave of fear and confusion hit him. Matrix let out a growl and headed for the door, slamming himself into it.

"Matrix no!" Enzo yelled, but it was too late. Matrix was jolted by a wave of energy and vaulted ten feet back against a far wall. "I already tried that, some kind of force field."

"My portal wont go through it either." Bob sighed as he watcheed Matrix getting up. "must be some type of firewall." He looked to Enzo, and then to the large doors. "I wish I knew what Dot was doing." 

"scuze me!"

"Coming though!"

"oh yes, pardon me"

"Important message!" the two bots darted speedily past Matrix who gave them both a nasty look. 

"Bob!"

"Yes Bob! We have a message"

"A message for you! Was supposed to give it earlier"

"But he did forget!"

"You forgot. Here Bob!" Slash handed him Dot's planner.

"You forgot, remember?"

"No"

"You must have forgotten that too!"

"Did not!…..

The argument ensuing between Hack and Slash seemed so distant as Bob traced his hands along her planner. What was she doing? What was she planning? Why didn't she talk to him first?

"Hack, slash!. What is this all about?" 

"Dot said we should give it to you!

"Dot said _I_ should give it to you"

"And that you should play it."

"Play the message."

"Oh! and uhm, you should play it….what did she say…"

"Play it in private. See, I do not forget! you forget!"

"Do not!"

"But you just did!" 

"I was just seeing if you remembered." 

"Oh. "

Bob looked down at the planner again, shaking his head, angry at her for doing this, confused at to why, and frightened of what might happen. "Matrix, take Enzo and get everyone assembled at the diner."

"Bob! We aren't just going to leave her in there with that thing are we?" Matrix fumed.

Bob turned to him, searching for something to say, but nothing came. "Just do it" and he began walking down the corridor, Matrix and Enzo trailing a few feet behind him. At the next junction, Enzo, Matrix, and the two bots went one way, and he went another, alone, to think and to hear what Dot's explanation was.

**********


	2. Lifes a Batch-file

**Part 2: Life's a Batch-file**

************ 

"Dot did what?" AndrAIa blinked, not quite believing what Matrix was telling her. 

"I think she's lost a few files, sugah." Mouse rolled her eyes as she walked into the diner. 

"I think Bob is even more random for going along with it." Matrix frowned. "I mean, he just left her there in the control room with that virus. He didn't even try to do anything!" 

"Was there really anything he could do?" AndrAIa took a seat in one of the booths. 

"Well, I don't know. I don't think we should have just left!" Matrix crossed his arms and sat down beside AndrAIa. 

"He tried the portal and it didn't worked, and then you tried the door and that defiantly didn't work, and then.." Enzo jumped into the booth across from AndrAIa and Matrix. 

"Alright, alright!" Matrix raised his hands to Enzo, wondering if he really talked that much. 

"What do we do now?" Mouse took a seat next to Enzo, lightly drumming her fingers on the table. 

"Wait I guess." AndrAIa shrugged. 

"Dot better have one dell of a plan." Matrix sighed. 

"Ceazal!" Enzo called. 

"Oh, why did you have to do that?" Matrix rolled his eyes. 

"What? I'm thirsty. I still get thirsty when I get older, don't I?" Enzo rolled his eyes right back at his older image. He grinned as Mouse and AndrAIa started to giggle. 

"Its no funny." Matrix grumbled. 

"Can I help you?" Ceazal paused by the table. 

"Hey Ceasal! Can we get a couple of energy shakes?" AndrAIa said between giggles. 

"Its Ceazal!" 

"Sorry, Ceazal." 

"Well…" Ceazal paused, surprised at the unusual apology. "Three energy shakes coming right up!" He sped away. 

"Three? Is his counter off?" AndrAIa raised an eyebrow. 

"No, sugar. He got the right number." Mouse winked and pointed to Matrix. 

"Good for nothing service bot." Matrix watched as Ceazal sped off, knowing he wasn't going to get an energy shake. 

"Gah! How long is Bob going to be? How long does it take to read a message file? This waiting is driving me random!" Enzo tapped his fingers on the table and swung his legs nervously from the seat. 

"You're already random!" Matrix laughed. 

"Says a lot about you, doesn't it." Enzo countered. This caused AndrAIa and Mouse to both laugh. 

"He's got ya there, honey!" Mouse gave a wink to the young Enzo beside her, happy to see him standing up to himself. 

"You two fight just like brothers!" AndrAIa shook her head with a smile. 

"We do not!" Enzo and Matrix both said at the same time, causing them to look at each other. 

"Here we are!" Ceazal put the three energy shakes down on the table. Matrix was about to argue about not getting anything when Ceazal plopped down a small bottle of I/O and a shot glass. He pointed at AndrAIa as he spoke to Matrix. 

"And that's only because you are with Madam. Don't expect the service when you are alone!" Ceazal zipped off to the other end of the diner. 

"Thanks." Matrix blinked. 

"You see what a little politeness can get you?" AndrAIa smiled. 

"Don't say anything." Matrix pointed at Enzo as he opened his mouth to make a joke. Enzo stopped and stuck his tongue out at his bigger self. Matrix returned the face before he realized what he was doing, causing Mouse and AndrAIa to laugh yet again. 

***********

Bob sat there for what seemed like a cycle, staring at the black planner. Slowly, he got up off of his zip board and walked around the storage room of the diner before pausing with a deep breath. He shook his head and then pushed the power button on the pad, followed by the "receive message" icon. The pad lighted up and began to shake abit. It shook itself free of Bob's hands and landed with a gentle thud onto the ground. Bob took a few steps back, nearly falling over his zip board as a life size holo-image of Dot flickered into existence. The image smiled gingerly at him, then sighed. Bob stood in stunned silence as the visual playback began. 

"Bob, if you are seeing this image, that means that so far, things have gone as planned. And yes Bob, I have a plan. It's a plan that might work, but I am going to need you to trust me for it to work, and do everything that I say." The image flickered abit as the holo-Dot moved down and pushed a button on a display pad. The holo image of Dot was replaced by an image of a program code, complex, and unlike anything Bob had ever seen. Dot's voice played in the background as the image of the program matrix flickered. 

"This is A.v.A., an Anti-Virus-Agent. It is a complicated program that Phong, Mouse, and I have been working on ever since our encounter with Daemon. Daemon made us realize that there are new, stronger, and more destructive viruses out there, and that Mainframe is unable to defeat them with our current tools. Daemon would have defeated us if it had not been for Hexadecimal, as much as I hate to admit it." The image flickered again and a structure that looked like a DNA strand made of binary code formed and spiraled in the air. Dots voice recoding played in the background as the image of the binary strand flickered. "A.v.A. , we hope, is our solution. It may have the potential to defeat any virus. I have decided to give A.v.A. its first real test subject, Megabyte." 

Bob marveled at how complex the program was. It was unlike any anti-virus program that he had ever encountered. He had heard rumor that such a program had only been theorized by the Super Computer's experts. Mouse must of been up to date on the studies, and as usual she was also ahead of them. This new program was even more complex than the anti viral program that Glitch contained. The program seemed geared toward repairing damaged codes, not deletion of codes, and it had an A.I. that allowed it to learn and deal with unknown virus types. Bob shook his head slightly, not quite believing what it was that he was seeing. With this program, they may have had a chance at changing Daemon's programming, instead of sacrificing Hex. The image flickered again and the holo-Dot reappeared, her PID icon now containing an extra small blue circle in its centre between the two triangles. Bob raised an eyebrow and began to ask why, but then remembered it was a holo-image and wouldn't be able to respond. 

"Well Bob, what do you think? Do you think it will work?" The holo-Dot gave a less than confident smile. "I sure hope you are saying yes right now. I have left detailed instructions for you as to what I need the rest of you to do. I need you to follow the plans exactly. As for me, I have taken A.v.A. and integrated its program into my file system. I am going to get A.v.A. to infect Megabyte, hopefully weaken, and maybe even fix him." Dot paused and looked at Bob for a moment before continuing. "I am going to use myself as the connection so that A.v.A. can infect him." 

"What! Dot no!" Bob shouted at the holo-image before he realized it didn't matter what he said, it had already been done. He stood there, wanting to shut the pad off and go after her, right then and there, forgetting whatever plan she had. First she had used Enzo and himself as an expendable option to defeat Daemon, and now she was using herself as one against Megabyte. _*Why is she doing this?*_

Then it dawned on him. Dot was no longer Dot. Dot was Command.com. The Command.com is defined to protect and maintain the system at any cost. _At any cost_. It was in her code now. Bob sighed and sat down on his zip board as the holo-Dot continued, slightly hazed at this new revelation and understanding of Dot that he had come to. A Virus is programmed that way, its not their fault. Dot had been coded to be the Command.com, it isn't her fault. He turned his eyes back to the image. 

"I know it sounds completely random. It even sounds random to me, Bob, but it also feels like it is the right thing to do. I have to stop him, no matter the cost. He is a virus, in _my_ system. " The holo-Dot paused a moment, and Bob watched as her face changed in expression. She was using every ounce of strength to keep her composure, but she was fighting a loosing battle. After a time of silence, she bit her lower lip, frowned, and then continued. 

"I want him to pay, Bob. I want him to suffer. I want him to feel every ounce of horror, of shame, of unspeakable pain that he has caused me." Her face relaxed, as for once she said what she felt, instead of hiding behind her code. "And how he hurt you, us, our friends, our system. He took everything away from me. You, my brother, my home, and then…then as if that wasn't enough to feed his destructive passion, he took our love and made it into a freak show, making me hurt you and feel so ashamed. Oh Bob, I am _so_ sorry. I gave up on you. I thought you were never coming back. And when you did, I pushed you aside, because I was afraid. _I was so afraid_. And just as things were feeling right, I throw you aside, because I was afraid again. The other Bob reminded me of the old times when things were good. You reminded me of the times when we had to struggle, and the horrors of the fighting, and the painful memories of everything that I...that we had gone through. I am so sorry Bob, but I was so afraid of the truth that I wasn't able to see that you were the real Bob all along." 

Bob watched the image in silence, now fighting his own emotions from overflowing to the surface. He understood now why she had chosen the other Bob. No matter how badly it hurt him, he understood why. he swallowed back the lump in his throat and listened as the holo-Dot continued. 

"You are the real Bob. The Bob that has been there, with me, through everything, the good and the bad. I now realize that I have to take the bad times with the good…. but, I think I realized it to late. Mouse said that you would forgive me, but I cant even bring myself to ask you to. I was so horrible to you, and all I can think to say is how sorry I am." 

The holo-Dot turned around and yelled in a cracking voice "Yes Hack, be there in a kilisec". The Holo-dot paused before turning around, heaving a small sob. The image turned back around, now full of tears, her emotional gates no longer able to withstand the force of her sadness. 

"I don't know if this will work Bob. If it does work, I don't know if I will still be around to celebrate." 

"Please don't say that Dot." Bob stood and interjected, his own voice choking slightly under a throat full of sorrow. But the holo-dot continued to talk, stumbling over the words with a few sniffles. 

"All I know is that I have to try. I also know that I love you, Bob. Even if you would rather just be friends now, I don't care. I just don't want to loose you, at least not completely." Her head lowered. "Not again." She looked back up again, more emotionally distraught than Bob had ever seen her. "Oh Bob, I love you. I am _so_ sorry, for everything. Good…goodbye….Bob…" 

The holo-Dot crumbled into tears and fell to her knees to turn off the recording. The image froze, with her crying on her knees, the message playback at an end. Bob stared at that image for the longest time, ignoring the blinking icon on the planner screen. She had been through so much in the past hour and a half. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her, and promise her that everything was going to be alright. But, she wasn't there. It was only a holo-image. He looked around the silent storage room, and then back to the image. Never before had he felt so alone, so helpless, so empty. He sat back down on the zip board, covering his face with his hands. 

"I love you too Dot." He whispered. And with that, he began to softly weep as the emotional tribulations of the past hour and a half finally caught up with him. 

********* 

"Its horrible! Its frightening! Its Completely random!" Mike backed way from the camera after his horror-film like intro and pointed to the diner behind him. 

"Right now in this diner before you unfolds a plan. A plan of total uncertainty! A plan of complete randomness! A plan of Dot! A plan Dot expects Bob to follow! A plan…" He paused and looked at the camera bynome. "What? Oh, to much? You really think so?" The camera motioned up and down as the camera bynome nodded. Mike sagged his shoulders and sniffled. 

"I swear, I try to make things more interesting, and people say its to much!" He sniffled again and started to walk off. "Ill be in my trailer." The camera followed him as the boom-mike operator rushed to stay out of the scene. Mike stopped and looked back at the camera. 

"Wait a nano, I don't have a trailer! Why don't I have a trailer?" Mike started to walk back toward the camera. "I mean, I'm talented! I should have trailer!" The camera bleeped out as Mike began another longwinded speech. 

********* 

The talk amongst the group died immediately as they heard the door from the storage room close. They each exchanged glances and shrugged or nodded as the footsteps approached the table. Looking at the expression on Bob's face, it was obvious that things were not good. Mouse and Enzo scooted over on the booth seat to let Bob sit down. Bob sat down slowly, in need of an energy shake, but not even near in the mood to fight with Ceazal. Mouse plopped down what was left of her energy shake down in front of Bob, who only nodded to her. Mouse glanced around the table with a deep sigh, realizing she was going to have to be first, as usual, to open her big yap. 

"Well, Sugah? what's the verdict?" Mouse placed a hand on his shoulder. 

Bob slowly glanced up at her, then looked around the rest of the table. He sighed softly and cleared his throat. "We, or rather Dot, has a plan, and we have instructions to follow." Noticing the less than satisfied and confused looks on the faces of his friends, he sighed and began to tell them about A.v.A. and Dot's plan. The reactions among the group were nothing less than the expected. 

"What! Has she gone completely random!" Matrix growled as he slammed his fist against the table. 

"Matrix!" chided AndrAIa. 

And for once, Mouse was speechless. 

"Now, I know it sounds random," Bob continued as he watched Matrix's anger grow, "but it may also work. So we are going to do exactly what she wants us to do." 

"What! Now I know you two are missing a few algorithms!" snarled Matrix. "I cant believe I'm processing this. Dot is going to use herself as bait for that virus, and you are going to go along with it?" 

"Yes Matrix, I am." 

"But why Bob? She's the brains, we 're the muscle. Its not supposed to be the other way around." Matrix continued to argue. 

"Because Matrix, I trust her. This time she is going to be the main player, the bait. That's why it may work. Megabyte is so used to us just running in to save the day that he is almost certainly expecting us. Dot is our surprise. We are still going to be the muscle, if you would let me give you the instructions, that is." 

Matrix just harrumphed and crossed his bulky arms, leaning back in the seat. AndrAIa's touch calmed him slightly, but he gave Bob an angry glare. Enzo just sat quietly in the corner of the booth, not really knowing what to say, convinced that it was all his fault in one way or another. Bob looked around the table to see if anyone else was going to put in any input before he continued with the plan. After a few nanos of silence, Bob continued. 

"Now, according to the information on this pad, A.v.A. worked quickly under lab environments and simulated viruses. Mouse, Dot said you helped develop it." 

"Well ya Honey, but it wasn't even in live testing stage last time I worked with it." 

"So, how well A.v.A. will perform on Megabyte is uncertain. Dot knew this, so part of her plan is to give us a few cycles to prepare for the effects of A.v.A., which with any luck, will weaken Megabyte enough for us to succeed with an all out frontal attack." Bob paused to glance at Matrix, who only grunted his approval at the attack. "She is going to hold off infecting Megabyte for three cycles, which should give us enough time to complete our orders. Then it could take anywhere from a few kilisecs to a full second for A.v.A. to take effect. We just aren't sure." 

"Pardon me Sugah, but just how is Dot plann'n on infect'n Megabyte?" 

Bob looked over at Mouse, knowing this explanation was going to have to be made sooner or later. He looked up at Matrix and readied himself for a fight. "Dot is going to cooperate with Megabyte for those three cycles. After the three cycles are up, she will stop cooperating, and then, if it all goes according to her plan, she will.." 

"She will be droned by Megabyte! You have gone random!" Matrix stood with another pounding of his fist on the table. 

"Sparky, calm down" AndrAIa placed a hand on his arm, but removed it after getting a look from Matrix. She looked to Mouse who just shook her head as Bob rose from the table. 

"And when he tries to drone her, he will be infected by A.v.A." Bob concluded. 

"Then what? I have a drone null for a dad and a drone random for a sis? This isn't a plan, its suicide. She is going to get herself deleted, and you are fine with it? This doesn't make any sense. _Your_ not making any sense." Matrix began to storm out of the diner. 

"Matrix wait!" AndrAIa called after as she started to get up. 

"Matrix, where are you going?" Bob took a few steps to block Matrix's exit. 

"Outta my way Bob. I'm going to do what everyone else _should_ be doing. I'm going after Dot before she gets herself deleted." He glared at the guard. 

"No Matrix. Look, I know it doesn't process right at the moment, but if you let me tell you what the rest of her plan is, it might." Bob tried to reason with him, his patience with the renegade getting thinner by the nano. 

"Outta my way" Matrix reached down to his gun, his voice deep and corrosive. 

"Matrix, " AndrAIa spoke sweetly and earnestly as she wrapped her arms around the arm that was reaching for his gun. "I think Bob is right this time. I know how you feel about Megabyte, but don't you think we _all_ feel that way? Megabyte is too strong now, even for you. I think that this A.v.A. program may be the only weapon we have. Dot is in there, risking her ASCII for this plan. I think we owe it to her to see it through. She is the Command.com, remember, not just Dot." 

Matrix looked down at her, the only person in the entire web that would be able to calm him down. He sighed, angered slightly at how well she could talk him down from his rage bouts. He looked at Bob, and the glare returned, but with less intensity. 

"This had better work Bob, or it wont be Megabyte that I will be going after" Matrix left it at that and frumped back down in the booth, crossing his arms. AndrAIa gave Bob a slight *_sorry*, _ nodded and then took her seat. 

Bob looked around the room in silence for a nano, feeling the thickness of the tension. He knew that Matrix wasn't the only one with doubts. He even had doubts. The plan, however, had already been set in motion by its creator, and at that very moment, that plan was all they had to go on. He took his seat beside Mouse again and began to tell everyone what their individual instructions were. 

********* ************ ***************** 

"This way please!" Hack pointed down the line of bynomes to a transport ship in KIT sector. 

"Yes, right this way. And do not be worried!" Slash helped an elderly bynome up the steps to the transport CPU. 

"Yes, this is only temporary!" Hack told everyone. 

"We hope." 

"Now why did you have to say that? 

"Say what?" 

"We hope. We hope?" 

"Well….we do, don't we?" 

"B..b..b..but…" Hack tried to come up with an argument. "Yah, buddy, we do." 

"Ok, this transport is full. Lets get the next one loaded up!" Enzo zipped in beside Hack and Slash on his zip-board. 

"Yes Sir!" Hack saluted. 

"Yes Sir, Enzo, sir!" Hack saluted and closed the transport door. 

"Good work!" Enzo smiled before zipping off to another loading transport. 

"He is doing well." Slash said after opening the hatch to the empty transport. 

"Oh yes, and so much nicer than Matrix." 

"Oh yes, defiantly." 

"Could be a little taller though." Hack scratched his head for a moment then helped Slash load the new transport. 

************ 

"Ah dell!" Mouse cursed under her breath after tripping on a clump of inter-cables. She looked around at what was once the eating area of the diner. It now comprised of vid-windows, inter-cables, nodes, data files, and cups of java. If she hadn't sent Ceazal to the bunkers, she knew he would have been yelling at her right then. The excuse of needing the extra power for the temporary principle office had, to her surprise, actually worked. She laughed to herself and finished going where she had been heading before she tripped. She hit the blinking button on the vid-window and smirked with a hand on her hip. 

"Hey Sugah!" 

"Mouse! Nice to see you again, though unexpected." The large red sprite gave a grin as he walked closer to the vid-window on his side. 

"Wish I had time for pleasant talk, Watts, but I'm actually looking for Ray. He said he might be heading your way." 

"Well he hasn't been through this system lately, doll." Watts shrugged. 

"Cursors. I really need to get a-hold of that boy!" Mouse frowned. She had asked several people already, and they all had the same answer as Watts. 

"Have you tried Melody's place in the Vetta system?" 

"No. I was hoping I wouldn't have to." Mouse crossed her arms. She had a strong dislike for that two-credit hussy, despite her good food. 

"Understandable. Ill let you know if I see him, doll." Watts winked at her. "If you ever get tired of chasing after that fly-boy, you know where to find me." 

"If I find him at Melody's, I just might take you up on that offer, honey." Mouse returned the wink to her old friend. 

"Keep in touch!" Watts waved. 

"You too Watts." Mouse waved back and shut off the video just as another video popped up to her left. "Hey Bob." 

"Any luck yet, Mouse?" 

"No Sugah, though I've got a good idea of where he is." Mouse rolled her eyes. 

"Alright, keep me informed." Bob smiled and turned off the vid-window. 

"When I find him, I'm going to delete him." Mouse laughed slightly to herself. 

******* 

The yellow and blue reflections from the screen danced in the unblinking eyes of Dot as she sat huddled over several digital pads and vid windows. She could feel his eyes on her back. No matter how much she tried to ignore that creepy feeling, it was starting to wind its way up her spine, hitting every last file nerve on its way up. She bit her lower lip and furrowed her eyebrows, trying to make her mind focus on the pad. 

The virus smiled to himself, knowing exactly how much he was bothering the sprite sitting across the room from him. For a small nano, he found himself admiring her, how much she had changed. Still a pain in the ASCII, as were all the sprites of this insignificant system, but she had grown. He chuckled to himself as he watched her get more and more fidgety with every passing nano. Oh how he loved being loathed by her. 

"Oh Miss Matrix?" He grinned wider as he watched how his voice made her jump slightly. "How are we coming?" 

"Still no access to the net." She didn't look up from what she was doing. It was bad enough to have him look at her, much less have to look at him back. She smiled inwardly at not being able to get connected. That meant that the first part of her instruction had been carried out. She looked at one of the windows and had to control herself to keep her composure as she read the complex encryption codes that had Mouse's usual signature. 

"Well, that is too bad." Megabyte thought to himself for a moment before a dark expression washed over his face. "Looks like I will have to find something else to occupy my time while we wait. Heir Doctor, get the list!" 

"Ya mine heir Megabyte!" 

Dot finally turned to face the virus with a raised eyebrow. "List?" 

"Yes, my list. The good doctor here has been working with Phong, or at least his programming codes." He had to laugh at that. "You see, I cant get into the net, so I am going to go back to my original plan." His crocodilian grin widened.. "and you Miss. Matrix are going to cooperate." 

"Cooperate how?" She didn't like where this was going. Something was happening that she hadn't planned. This virus was obsessed with getting into the net. Why was this part of his programming changing. 

"You, Miss. Matrix, are going to help me as I begin the hunt!" He smiled darkly at her, loving every kilisec of this game. He looked to the doctor as he laughed his usual small quips, then back at Dot. 

Dot just sat there, with her mouth slightly open. She then quickly closed it and turned away from him, returning to her windows. Her mind raced with how she could work this into her plan. How could she cooperate in this? Cooperate in a hunt? Megabyte was doing this on purpose, and she new it. He was trying get under her code, to rattle her files. He wanted to see just how far he could push her before she went random. She furrowed her brow again and vowed not to let him win this one. She would just have to speed up her plan and hope the rest of them were ready. 


	3. Nothing is Ever that Basic

**Part 3: Nothing is Ever That Basic**

"Ray, c'mon! We don't have all cycle ta get this done Sugah" Mouse watched as Ray hauled the cables down to the diner on Baud. She smirked as he had trouble keeping the massive entanglement from entangling him. She cleared her throat and got rid of the laugh as he landed beside her. 

"Now, explain to me exactly what we are doing again, and why we need all of these inter cables." 

"Just take those cables inside" she said as she began walking into the diner. As soon as Ray was inside, she began taking the cables off of Baud and hooking them into several alcoves and nodes that she had already set up. The entire diner had been set up as a temporary command centre that could rival the principle office. She glanced back at Ray who had his mouth halfway open in amazement. 

"You did all this in under two cycles?" He looked at all the nodes, screens, command prompts, and the sea of cables that ran up the walls and across the floor. 

"You bettah believe it Honey. " Mouse gave him a wink before turning back to what she was doing. "With no P.O., we've had to make due. So far, we've been able to keep Dot from accessing the net, just like she planned. All we have to do now is wait for that signal of hers. " 

"We?" Ray leaned on Baud as he took a look at the empty diner. "Looks like your doing all the work." 

"Just doing my part in the plan sugah. This was my task, and I'm complet'n it. Everyone else is busy doing their task." She stood with one hand on her hip and looked at him. "And I would have been done with the task last cycle if it hadn't taken me so long ta track you down." 

"Now, what would be the fun if I was easy to find?" He gave her that trademark smirk. 

"Don't make me put a location beacon on your ASCII. And you can wipe that smirk offa yer face too. " 

Ray kept the smirk on his face as he continued to lean on Baud. "Cant." 

"Why?" 

"Well because, luv, id have to take my eyes off you, and that's not a sacrifice I'm willing to make." He stated with the usual frosty confidence. This was brought to a prompt halt as Mouse kicked the bottom of Baud, sending the surfer flying. Mouse laughed lightly as she stood over him with her arms crossed. 

"No time for sweet talk Sugah, I have work ta do." 

Ray frowned. "But you said all we have to do now is wait. Couldn't you use a break?" 

Mouse took a look around the empty diner, checking the open vid screens to make sure everything was still active. Ray seized the opportunity in her lack of attention and grabbed her foot, sweeping it out from under her. Timing it just right, she fell into his waiting lap. 

"Nice of you too drop in luv." He returned the frostiness to his voice pattern. "Miss me while I was away?" 

Mouse kina half struggled to get up, and half struggled to stay where she was. "No" 

Ray faked a hurt look and frowned at her. Mouse laughed and stopped struggling. She wrapped one arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a kiss. She smirked at his googly smile as she pulled away. 

"Well, maybe a little bit" She smirked. 

"Thought so." He confidently kissed her in return. The kiss, however, was interrupted by a beeping from one of the vid screens. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as Mouse rose to answer the vid screen, wondering if they were ever going have real time together, alone. Mouse looked over at the vid screen and blinked for a moment before rechecking it. 

"What in the net?" She franticly began typing a few sequences. "Cursors!" 

"What is it?" Ray looked over her should after hesitantly rising from the floor. 

"We have a problem. There hasn't been an attempt to get into the net from the P.O. in over four millisecs." 

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ray raised an eyebrow at her, not quite following. 

Mouse just sighed and shook her head. She pulled up a new vid window. After a few buttons, Bob appeared on the screen. 

"What's up Mouse?" 

"Bob, we have a problem. It appears Megabyte has changed his strategies. He's no longer trying to get onto the Net. I think he may.." 

But before she could finish her sentence, large vids popped up around the sectors. Megabyte's words replaced Mouse's. 

"Good after noon Mainframe. It is a lovely day out isn't it? Seems like a perfect day to begin the hunt. Let the games begin!" 

Bob looked at Mouse and Ray through the view screen. The bynomes on the streets just stood in silence, staring at the vid screen. Megabyte added in one final detail before shutting off the vid. 

"Oh, and since I now have your PIDs located, I suggest you run, because you cant hide!" His laughter filled the sector as the vid shuts off. The bynomes suddenly began running around, not sure of where to go. Mass panic ensued. Bob looked back at Mouse who just shrugged. 

"He's changed objectives. This is bad. This is very bad. We'll meet back at the diner." Bob shut off the vid screen before opening another one to contact Matrix and AndrAIa. 

Back at the diner, Mouse watched as the vid popped out of existence. "Cursors!" and she started running through several vid windows, trying to find out not only how Megabyte got the PIDs, but just who's PIDs he had. 

"Ooooh Dear." Ray added in for a missing Phong as he began rerouting some of the cables. 

******** 

"Slow down, Sparky!" AndrAIa sped after Matrix, urging her zip board to go faster. 

The plan had gone off without a hitch for the last two cycles. Mouse had completed her task at the diner. Bob, after being connected by Mouse, was able to inform Turbo of the problem, but was still unable to open a portal to the Supercomputer, for lack of a tear creator, and for fear of Megabyte trying his hand. The Guardians had been informed however, and were waiting for the order to attack. Even Enzo, Hack, and Slash had completed their tasks of evacuating the sector smoothly. Then out of no where it happened. He had had a strange feeling since the P.O. had gotten eerily quite that morning. With Megabyte's announcement, Matrix's feelings were justified. The morale of the troops that he and AndrAIa were assembling at the time wasn't helped much by that announcement either. Now all he wanted to do was get to the diner and see what Bob had to say about the plan now. He knew it wouldn't work. Its never that basic. 

AndrAIa stopped outside of the diner and ran in after Matrix. She nearly ran into him in the doorway where he had stopped. They both looked around the changed diner with the mass of inter cables, blinking nodes, and vids. Matrix looked around for Bob, but saw only Mouse and Ray hovered over a few vids. 

"Now I thought the interlocking binary would go here, not by the sub facing directory. " Ray interjected into what Mouse was doing. 

"No Sugah, you only do that if you need to make a sub interface connection, and then encrypt, not the other way 'round" 

Ray scratched his head slightly. "Glad you have a head for this luv" He bent down to give her a kiss, then noticed the reflection of the two at the door in one of the vids. He stood up strait again and turned to face them, tapping Mouse on the shoulder. 

"Hey you two, what do ya think?" Mouse gave them both a small smile. 

"Looks amazing Mouse." AndrAIa continued to look around, before Matrix stepped forward. 

"Where's Bob." Matrix almost barked. 

"Calm down Sugah, he had one bit of business to take care of, he.." Mouse was interrupted for the second time that milisec as Enzo burst through the door, Frisket and Bob following. 

"Bob found Frisket!" Enzo exclaimed before taking a good look around the dinner. "Whoa! Super frosty! How did you get all of this up in time, I mean, wow, oh hey, what does this do." Enzo walked over to one of the vids and occupied himself. 

"Ok Bob, looks like this plan is over. What now?" Matrix glared at him after patting Frisket on the head, happy to see that he was ok. 

"The plan isn't over. If I know Dot, she will stick to this plan, rather than change it completely. She may just have to bend the rules a bit." Bob watched his footing as he stepped over masses of cables 

"You mean speed things up, dontcha?" Mouse asked as she glanced over her shoulder. 

"Yes, Mouse. It makes the most sense. I mean, she obviously cant cooperate with Megabyte in this hunt, whatever that is. We just have to make sure everything is completed, and then wait for the signal." 

"Make me feel bettah if I had an idea what kina signal I was lookin' for." Mouse sighed. 

"Well Id feel better if we hadn't gone along with this plan in the first place." Matrix grumbled. 

"I know. But it was all we really had, and now its all we have. Dot wanted us to trust her." AndrAIa looped one arm through Matrix's arms. He looked down at her and nodded slightly. He glanced up at Bob, and reluctantly nodded. 

"Ok Bob, lets do it." Matrix finally agreed, his tense body aching for a fight. 

"Ok then." Bob gave one of his optimistic smiles, but it didn't fool anyone in the room. He sighed and got down to business, making sure everything was ready. "Enzo, how is the evacuation going?" 

************** 

He had been pacing a rut into the floor for the past milisec, his impatience growing with each new pass. She watched him, wondering how much longer he would be able to keep from breaking something. He had been so lost here, nothing to fight, no purpose. Now that he had something to take out his aggressions, he was unable to act, forced to stand still, or at least pace. She sighed, not being able to take much more of it herself. 

"Would you sit down Sparky, your making my files spin." 

"Oh," he stopped and looked at her. "I just cant take this anymore. How much longer do we have to wait. Its taking for ever!" 

"No, it isn't lover. We've only been waiting a milisec and a half." 

"Feels like its been seconds." He hrmfed and finally walked over to sit on a box next to AndrAIa. He looked around the bunker, at all of the artillery they had prepared. The troops and CPUs were waiting for their orders at the planned position. All they needed was a vid from Mouse telling it was time to go. He got antsy after sitting still for only a few nanos and hopped up off the box. "Gah. This waiting is driving me random!" 

"It wont be long now. Something is defiantly coming soon. All we have to do is wait for Mouse." She arched her neck a bit, listing to the minute movement in the programming matrix. She sighed as she heard distant whispers, but nothing defiant as yet. 

"I know, I know." He flopped himself back down beside her again, crossing his massive arms. "Doesn't mean I have to like it." 

"No, it doesn't." She leaned over and rested her head against his broad chest. "But its best to relax for a bit, save your energy for the fight." 

He sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I just cant relax, not right now. I mean, what if something goes wrong and we miss the signal, or this A.v.A. doesn't work, or Dot never even gets a chance to infect Megabyte." He let out a deep sigh of frustration and leaned his chin on the top of AndrAIa's head. 

She raised her head and nuzzled his cheek with her own. "Trust me Sparky, it will all work out. It always dose, doesn't it?" 

He gave her a small smile and a nodded. She nuzzled her head back onto his chest and he leaned his chin back on her head, after kissing her hair softly. He closed his eyes, trying to control the emotional build up inside. The tension was getting to him, and so was the worry. For the first time, he was actually worried that something might go wrong. He only hoped that Mouse would vid him with the signal soon, or he was going to have to break something. 

********** ************ ************* ************* 

"Ok boys, just set that down on the table there, and then get back to the bunker." 

The bynomes saluted Mouse and set the signal enhancement node down on the table They saluted again and started to head out after looking around the dimly lit diner. It was getting dark outside. One of them turned around. 

"Sir, do you think this will work?" He spoke, feeling able to speak freely to her. 

"It has to Sugah. Now, back to the bunker with you two, we'll need your help soon" The two bynomes saluted her again before turning and heading back to the bunker. She watched them leave with a sigh. *_it has too_* she thought. She glanced over at the enhancement node before grabbing an inter cable and plugging it in. She smiled as it glowed to life, several beeps letting her know it was operational. Now all they had to do was wait for the signal from Dot's PID. Waiting. She hated waiting. She then realized how quiet it was in the diner. 

"Ray?" She looked around the dark and empty diner with a raised eyebrow, one hand gingerly placed on her hip as she walked toward the bar. The only light in the diner came from the several open vids and the lights from the nodes. She spotted Baud and her eyebrow raised even higher. She'd never seen Baud without Ray. 

"Ray? Honey you around?" She furrowed her eyebrows when she got no response. "That's odd." 

She shrugged with a shaking of the head, then looked back at Baud. She never really had an opportunity to get a good view of it. Its complex programming was more than a little intriguing to the hacker. She walked up to Baud and looked it over, a small smile coming across her face. She took another quick look around. 

"Ray?" She called into the dark diner again. She grinned and turned toward Baud, timidly reaching out to touch it. She smirked at her own timidness and touched the surface of Baud, her eyebrow raising as she got an unusual vibe from it. She ran her hand along its complex construction, her grin widening as she sensed parts of its programming. The technology was so different than anything she had ever encountered, so complex and advanced. Some of its language was even unreadable to her. That only made her smile more, her curiosity growing. The grin was soon replaced by a blink as she took a few steps back from Baud who beeped. She looked around the diner, then back at Baud. 

"Sorry, Sugah, just curious" she smirked, speaking to the object. She shook her head in a faint laugh before turning back to the enhancement node, opening a program function vid window. 

Baud switched light formations and sent out a beam of energy. The energy soon took the form of Ray, who did his best to keep quiet, having been aware of Mouse's presence since she walked in the door. He gave a small grin and silently watched Mouse's back as she looked over the vid screen. The light from the vid screen in the shadowed dinner glowed on her face, its luminescent aura only added too by her fiery red hair. His grin grew as he watched her body move with a long stretch of her back, her muscles showing as she cracked her neck. He had to control himself to keep from laughing as she began to softly hum the tune to "Alphanumeric". She let out a small sigh, picking up a planner as she turned around. She looked up and saw Ray, nearly having a heart attack, dropping the planner on the floor, her hand going to her heart. 

"Hey, pretty lady." Ray smiled. 

"Whoa Sugah!" she blinked. "You tryin' to send me into early deletion? You should be ashamed, sneakin up on a gal like that. " She gave a small frown. "Where were you anyway, I didn't hear you come in." 

He kept his eyes on her as he bent down to pick up the planner. "Oh, I was just getting a recharge." avoiding the question of where exactly he was. He stood up slowly, his eyes following up her body. Before getting to her face, however he downcast his eyes, not sure how Mouse would take being looked over. He handed her back the planner. "So what's up? The trap ready?" 

"I guess so, though I should probably go check it again, just ta be sure." She set the planer down, shutting off the enhancement node's program vid. Another yawn caught her attention for a moment as she tried to shrug off her weariness. She put a hand on her hip as she got a look from Ray "What?" 

"You need rest. You've checked over that thing four times already this past milisec. I think its been checked enough. Either its going to work, or its not, and with you behind it, I think it will be just fine." 

"Ray, I cant relax, I have to be ready for that sig..*yawn*..nal, and I really should go check out that trap again." she continued as she walked past Ray toward the door. 

"Oh no you don't." He lifted his head and Baud flew off of its position near the bar, gentling nudging Mouse in the back. It flipped to a horizontal position, taking Mouse with it. 

"What the dell? Just what do you think your doin' Ray!" Mouse fumed as she started to rise up from her laying position on Baud. 

"You are going to relax for a bit, you need to reserve your energy." He said with a frosty smoothness as he gently placed a hand on her chest, pushing her back against Baud. "You worry to much. Everything will be fine, luv. You've taken care of your part, now its time to take care of you." He leaned down, his hand still on her chest as he took a seat on the edge of Baud, pleased to realize that Mouse wasn't really fighting him. If she had fought him, he knew he would have been across the room and through a wall by now. 

Mouse sighed, knowing that he was right. She hadn't had a good rest in few cycles, and her energy was being fueled by the many cups of java she had consumed throughout the cycle. She gave up and leaned her head back on Baud, actually enjoying the chance to get closer to it, to feel its programming and search for a better understanding of its complex and advanced language. What she didn't know was that Ray could feel every vibe she sent to Baud as she tried to get closer to its programming code. He let her amuse herself for a moment, understanding why a hacker would be intrigued, not to mention enjoying the sensation he got every time she tried to get under Baud's, and his, programming. He would have to explain it to her soon, but he was waiting for a good moment. So many times before, the explanation had gone wrong. Before, he had no trouble telling the girls, but for some reason he was having trouble finding a good moment this time. This time it actually mattered to him if the girl he explained it to accepted it or not. Pushing the thoughts from his head, he gave her a smile as she looked up at him, then raised an eyebrow as she turned away again. He removed his hand from her chest, wondering if it was making her uncomfortable. 

"What is it?" He spoke softly, the frosty smoothness gone from his voice. 

"Nothin Sugah." She set her eyes at one of the open vids, watching lines of binary codex run down the screen. 

"It is something" He sighed, not exactly sure how far he should push her. "There has been something degrading away your code for a while now. Come on luv, you can tell me." He gave her an encouraging smile as she turned her eyes back to him for a moment. The smile faded off of his face as she turned back to look at the screen. 

"I'm just thinking about what a damned fool I was when I went after Daemon. I knew I had the encryption codes, but like a random basic, I went anyway." 

"Why did you go? I know why Matrix went, but why you?" 

He tilted his head as he watched the expression on her face change from a distant thought to a noticeable cringe, as if she didn't want to answer. He was just about to tell her to forget it when she turned those gorgeously deep eyes of hers his way again, stopping any words from escaping his mouth. The look on her face took his breath away. 

"I went after you Sugah. Turbo told me that Daemon had you, and that..." She swallowed, pausing a moment as she encouraged herself to continue. "Turbo said ya were wait'n for me." She looked back to the vid screen. "Course, I realized what a fool I was ta let Turbo trick me when I got to Daemon, and you weren't there. Turbo sure knew how ta get under my code." She tried her hand at a laugh, but it barely came, her eyes not even tempted to look back at Ray. 

"When Daemon infected me, " she continued, thinking that she might as well get it all out and over with, seeing as how she had already succeeded in making herself look like a fool. "I didn't think about the encryption codes anymore, or the war, or Mainframe. None of it seemed matter. All I could think about was the clarity that the virus had given to my mind." She stopped and bit her lower lip, then sighed. "All I could think about was," she turned to him, not sure to continue, or leave the diner. She took every bit of faith inside of her and pushed it past her lips. "You. You, and why you weren't there, waiting for me, like Turbo said." She quickly turned away and focused her eyes on the vid screen, its imaged slightly blurred by the raising data in her eyes, confident that she had gone way overboard on this one. 

Ray sat up slowly, looking down at her. The reflection from the vid danced off of her face and her eyes. He could feel from Baud just how tense she was, and he could see in the reflection the data welling in her eyes. She had said everything he had been wanting to say since he became free from Daemon. Daemon had given him clarity and a desire to get everything out. Though it had subdued after her infection left his body, it was still there. He had wanted to tell Mouse, but she had just beaten him to it. He frowned as she closed her eyes, sending a small drop of data running down her cheek and onto Baud. If only he had done it sooner. If only he had been as brave as she. He reached out and slid his hand down her cheek, feeling horrible for making her feel that way. 

"But I was waiting" he said softly. "or at least I would have been, if Daemon hadn't sent me to get Bob, ehr… Megabyte I mean." He gently turned her face to him, sliding his hand up her other cheek. He felt a new wave of sadness as he looked into her deep eyes. "I'm sorry luv. I didn't know that was eating at your code, or I would of said something sooner, I promise I would of. But I wanted to be their, waiting for you. I really did" 

"Really?" She reached up and pressed his hand against her cheek, closing her eyes to its touch. 

"More than anything." He leaned in closer as she opened her eyes to him again. "I'm here now, pretty lady." He gave her a sweetly sincere smile. "I'm here for as long as you want me." 

Mouse returned the smile as relief washed over her. She reached up and slid a hand across his cheek and around his neck as he leaned in closer. "_Forever_." she whispered, her lips softly brushing his as she spoke. 

Ray looked into her eyes for what seemed milliseconds, that single word carrying so much meaning. Never before had his free spirit actually wanted to hear such a commitment filled word. As he stared deeply into her eyes, he could feel the warmth of her body against Baud, and the closeness of her breath. Unable to keep himself away from her for another nano, he wrapped his arms around her body and lifted her into the sitting position on Baud as he joined her, drawing her onto his lap, connecting with as much of her as he could. He paused as their lips met, staring into the deep blackness of her eyes. They were so much alike. Each free and yet lost with in their lives. It was for this reason they were able to ground each other without waiting each other down. That strange connection called them together, locked into one another's eyes. Then together they kissed, giving in to the emotions. They let the dark diner drop from their minds, and they were consumed with only each other. The kiss enveloped everything. The doubts of the day, the darkness of what was going on outside the diner, the very system itself, all melted away, and there was only their love. It shown like a warm light in the great void. 

*********** 

"Awh, c'mon Bob, I'm not tired." Enzo finished his complaint with a long yawn as Frisket nuzzled up beside him. 

"Sure you aren't, but every sprite needs at least a little downtime." He gave Enzo a smile and tucked him into the bed. "Your going to need your energy for tomorrow." 

"What about you Bob?" 

"I will too. I just need to get a few things done first. Now, shut down." He rose from the bed and walked to the door, shutting off the light in the room. 

"Bob?" 

"Yes Enzo?" he sighed, but smiled as well. 

"Thanks for letting me and Frisket stay at your place." Enzo finished with another yawn. 

"Anytime, buddy." 

"Goodnight Bob." Enzo smiled and closed his eyes, unable to fight his fatigue any longer. 

"Goodnight." Bob stood in the doorway and watched the young sprite for a while. He thought of how much that little sprite needed his sister. _He would get her back for Enzo_, he thought. _And then he would never let her go again_, he added as he closed the door and walked out into the living room. 

*********** *************** *************** 


	4. The Calm Before the Storm

**Part 4 : The Calm Before the Storm**

The eerie silence of the room carried its own unique echo of sound; soft, ghostly, distant, and cold. Cold as the chair she sat in and the desk upon which her fingers trailed. This silence was the shaker of worlds, the destroyer of hopes, and the doubt that crept into even the most well thought out plans. It was in this silence that one was able to think, and to question one's plan, and even more so one's motives. What was she doing here, really? Was she here because she thought it was necessary to save the system, or was it for another, darker, purpose. A purpose that dared not even slip its way across her lips in a faint whisper for fear of finding truth within its sound. A sound to break the silence. She sighed and listened as the echo of her breath collided with the walls of the dimly lit office. No more of this could she take. Standing to leave, she took one final deep breath, before stopping frozen in her steps. How long had he been standing there, watching her? 

"Something on your mind Miss. Matrix?" His smile curled upwards, revealing the furthest reaches of his crocodilian grin. His green eyes narrowed, their gaze slithering their way up her form as he crossed the room. 

"You asked me here, Megabyte. So talk, I have a lot of work to do." Her eyes narrowed with his, her spirit feeling ever more uncooperative. Now was the time when she would begin to fulfill her part of the plan. She was afraid, but also relieved. Cooperating with this monster for the past two cycles had been degrading at her files, so much so that she had begun to question her plan, and her motives. She was going to end it all now, draw the line, and stop him in his tracks. 

"Sit back down Miss. Matrix, we have some…things to discuss." When he noticed that she made no effort to sit down, he sighed and finished with a hesitant "Please". The grin returned to his face as she slowly took a seat. 

"Do we?" She said, surprised by the please so much so that she found herself actually sitting. She fought hard to hold back a yawn, but lost, and raised her hand to her face to cover it. 

"Actually, I thought that you could use a break, yes? Cant have you falling asleep during the hunt, when I will be in need of your services the most." He took his eyes off of her for the first time since entering the room and pressed the telecom button on the desk. "Bring in the order." then he promptly turned his eyes back to her, sending a chill up her body. Noticing the reaction, he smiled to himself. A few nanos later, two of the viral bynomes walked in, set a tray down onto the desk, saluted and departed. On the tray were a variety of foods and drinks, a few were rare and high in energy. 

"You took me away from my work for this?" She did her best to sound annoyed, but more so she was shocked and utterly confused. 

"You were falling asleep at your post, Miss. Matrix. You are no good to me drained. Now, enjoy the hospitality and eat." 

"I'm not hungry." 

"It would be in your best interest to." 

"Or what? I'm not hungry." 

"EAT!" Megabyte rose from his chair, knocking over some of the food items, digging one of his claws into the desk in front of Dot. When Dot didn't even flitch, he found himself grinning ever so slightly. He sat back down. 

"Please, eat, if only hate every bite of it." There was that _please_ again. _Where was that coming from?_ he found himself thinking. Dot was thinking the same thing. 

"Is this all you called me for, your hospitality?" She slowly picked up a slightly spilt cup of java, if only to humor him for now. 

"Actually, Miss. Matrix, I wanted to discuss your role in my little hunt I have planned." 

"I see, well I wanted to talk to you about that too." So it began, the dance with the devil. 

"Really? Well, do tell Miss. Matrix." He darkened his eyes, not sure what to expect, as he curled his hands under his chin. 

"Well," Dot paused to take a sip of the Java, actually glad to have it, even if it was from him. "I have come to a decision of sorts. " She paused for a moment, trying to think of the correct wording. She needed him mad, mad enough to try and drone her. After one final prayer to the User, hoping that everyone was ready, she quirked a dark smile and set out to complete her task. 

*** **** 

Why were things always so hazy, so vague, so lonely. Stillness would always envelope her when she reached that place. The stillness was safe, forgiving. The light was unceasing, harsh, burning. Oh User, if she could just make that light go away and leave her alone in this place, let her be happy in this stillness. The light came no matter how much she pleaded it to leave, beating down its hard heated light into her eyes, causing her to flinch. Then there was that sound again, like a distant clock. Steady, never ending. It was so painful to her ears. _Oh User no, not her, not now_. The hazed gray figure approached the child in the corner each foot step echoing in rhythmic movement, a delicate hand stretched out, the sweet smile on its face. _Your not real. Leave me alone!_ _I don't wanna remember you, this place, these things._ But the figure would not stop. Closer and closer it came to the crying child, its arms outstretched. _Your not real! Your gone! Why do you haunt me! _The child wept a heavy sob. _Please, just leave me be. No, don't touch me, I cant deal with this. I miss you. Please Mamma, your not really there. Go away! No mamma! _

"Mamma No!" The hacker sat strait up, shielding her eyes against the harsh lights from the vid windows that greeted her. She breathed a heavy gasp as she gathered her surroundings, drawing her legs up to her chest. She jumped slightly as she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders and drew her in close, giving her much needed comfort. 

"Its all right Luv. You were just having bit of a dream is all." Ray wrapped his arms around her tightly, his concern growing as he held her shaking hands. "You all right, luv? Want to talk about it?" 

"Its… Its noth'n Sugah." She did her best to shake off the whole experience. She had gotten so used to it, though it was nice to have someone there when she woke up this time. 

"All right, luv." He sighed lightly, but left it at that, for now. 

"What time is it Ray?" She peered out and saw the edge of the dawn light creeping over the horizon of Mainframe. She jumped up off of Baud. "You let me sleep this long?" 

"You needed the rest." He countered. 

"But, Ray! I could have missed the signal!" 

"No worries luv, I was watching the place for you. Now sit back down while I get you a cup of java." 

"You were up all this time, Honey?" She reluctantly sat back down on Baud and watched him go behind the counter to get some java. 

"Well, not the whole time, but most of it." He turned to her with a small smirk "Your just too entertaining when you sleep to miss. You talk, sing, and snore. A regular triple feature!" He gave her a laugh and turned back to the java. 

"I most certainly do not!" She countered, then laughed lightly at the thought of him watching her all night. "Do I really?" 

"You bet luv." He passed her a warm mug of java, the smell very welcome to her file system as she sped up her processes. He smiled as she leaned back against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her waist as he sipped the java. 

"No news from any of the others?" she spoke after a small pause to enjoy the moment. 

"Well Bob vid-ed in just to check up before he docked for the night. Enzo is taking downtime at his apartment. No word from Matrix and AndrAIa. Oh ya," he paused to laugh, "Hack and Slash called in wondering if they could stay here for the night. I kindly declined, of course." 

"And where was I when all this was go'n on?" 

"Right here, luv. Asleep." 

"They didn't…. !?" She looked up at his smirking face with a raised eyebrow. 

"No, " he laughed, "I kept the vids on audio only." He gave her a kiss and wrapped his arm around her waist more tightly. "Now relax and drink your java. We've got a long cycle ahead of us." 

She smiled and leaned her head back against him. She wasn't in that lonely stillness, and yet she felt safe. For the first time she felt safe in the light. 

****** 

He awoke with coming dawn and sat up from his uncomfortable position on the couch. He had sat there most of the night, thinking. He glanced around the empty and quiet apartment after clearing his vision, the grogginess of the lack of downtime keeping an unwavering presence. He looked down at the picture he had clutched to his chest, his hands aching from grasping in the same position for that length of time. He set the picture back down on the table, a small smile coming to his lips as the smiling face on the picture looked at him. Bob's smile slowly faded as he remembered exactly where Dot was at that very moment, alone with that virus. He sighed and ran a hand through his silvery hair then looked to the small sprite who stood their looking at him. 

"Enzo, what are you doing online so early?" He did his best to give the boy a smile. 

"I couldn't stay docked, Bob. I tried, honest, but my mind just kept processesing no matter how hard I tried to turn it off. I'm sorry." Enzo let a small yawn escape. 

"Its ok. I couldn't sleep either." Bob smiled again and patted the couch next to him. 

"Really?" Enzo stumbled his way over to the couch and plopped down beside Bob. 

"Nope, not much at least." 

"Worried about Dot too?" 

"Ya, Enzo." He looked down at Enzo who returned frown. He sighed and scruffed up the kid's hair. "Don't worry, your sister knows what she's doing." _I hope_ he added silently. He looked in the less than confident eyes of Enzo and nodded. _This sprite is to smart for his own good sometimes_, he thought. Bob decided what was needed was a change in subjects. "You did well with evacuation." 

"Thanks Bob." A small smile of pride managed to make its way onto the sad sprite's face. "I did my best, for you…and for Dot." 

"I know she will be proud of you when this is all over with." Bob found his eyes wandering back over to the picture. 

"Bob, when _will_ it be over?" Enzo looked up at Bob, sure that he had answer. Bob always had an answer. 

"Soon." He did his best to put confidence behind that vague word, not sure if soon was even the right answer. He sighed and wrapped an arm around Enzo's shoulder. "Soon" he repeated. He began to say something else, but only smiled when he realized that Enzo had fallen asleep. He too began to drift off, the last image in his eyes being the picture of Dot and her smile. 

******** 

"What is that smell?" Matrix blinked his eyes to the dimly lit bunker as he gathered his senses about him. His speech was dry and his muscles were sore from laying on a box of ammunition all night. 

"Morning lover." AndrAIa gave him a groggy smile in between yawns. 

"Hi." A smile crept onto his weary face. He gave her a small kiss, then looked about the bunker. "Well, what is that smell?" 

"Oh, that!." AndrAIa laughed lightly. "Hack and Slash were so grateful for us letting them stay here last night that they are making breakfast." She smirked and added, "for the entire force." 

"What?" Matrix blinked. "That's impossible." 

"Why?" 

"Because," he gave a shocked smile, "it actually smells good." 

AndrAIa laughed and pinched his arm before standing. He rose slowly with a long stretch and stood beside her. Bunker 1-0Alpha was halfway between downtime and full functioning. Some of the bynomes were still offline, others were just waking up and waking others beside them, and the rest were already fully online, delivering mugs of java and plates of food. A few Bynomes were carrying a large cart out to the other bunkers filled with java, shakes, food, and a few bottles of I/O. Matrix took a step back as one CPU buzzed by him with a tool kit. 

"They really seem to have their processes together." Matrix said as he continued to take a look around the bunker. 

"They had a good instructor." AndrAIa gave him a wink. "And today _is_ the third cycle. We are expecting the signal from Dot any milisec now. If Bob was right, as she did speed up the plan, then it will come before the end of the cycle." 

"And if he was wrong?" He crossed his arms with a slight grumble. 

"Don't worry lover, everything will work out." She gave him a smile and looped an arm through his. "Now, what do you say we go and get some breakfast. Hack and Slash have been working hard, and you wont believe all the stuff they have!" 

"Well it smells good." He managed to give her a small smile. "Don't know if want to taste it though." 

"Wuss." She pinched him and tugged his arm. 

"Am not! I just want to live to see the actual battle." He laughed roughly and reluctantly followed. 

**** ****** 

"No, you have to shake it, then stir." Hack's voice was more than a little frustrated. 

"I always stir, then shake." 

"That is why yours always tastes funny." 

"Does not." 

"Oh yes it does." 

"My goodness! You are cranky in the morning." 

"Oh! I am sorry Slash, I am very cranky. But it is shake first!" 

"Apology accepted, but it is stir." 

"Shake." 

"Stir." 

"Shake!" 

"STIR!" 

"Morning boys." AndrAIa thought it best to interrupt them before breakfast ended in a food fight. 

"Oh! AndrAIa, and Matrix!" They both turned away from the argument and spoke in unison. 

"Good morning to you!" Hack got in first. 

"Oh yes, good morning. Hope you slept well." 

"I've slept better." Matrix sighed. 

"Oh that is too bad. 

"Oh yes, too bad. I did not sleep well either." 

"Yes you did. You kept me up." 

"How did I keep you up?" 

"You snore." 

"I do not!" 

"Yes you do." 

"I do? loudly?" 

"Yes." 

"Oh, I am sorry." 

"That is ok." The bots looked at the two sprites watching them and then held up plates of food and cups of java. 

"Breakfast?" they asked in unison. 

***** ***** 

"So, let me get this strait." The virus's voice was filled with aggravation, and rising anger. "You are now refusing to cooperate?" 

"What? Was I not speaking your language? I am not cooperating in this hunt of yours, _virus_." Dot added that nice little slur at the end, just for a punch. 

"That is unacceptable!" He rose from his seat behind the desk and began to approach where Dot was sitting. 

"Well, that is just too bad, isn't it." Dot was doing her best to keep the fear out of her voice, filling it with all of the spite and anger she had toward the monster standing before her. She pushed even more of that anger into her voice as he came ever nearer to her. "Not fun when things don't go according to plan, isn't it." 

"Enough!" Megabyte growled and leaned in close to her, his golden claws slowly lengthening as his anger grew. "You are going to help me hunt down those sprites, Miss. Matrix." His eyes darkened and shined with a luminous and sickening viral green. "One way or another." The depth of his voice hissed and permeated the room with its vileness. 

"Have it your way, _Virus_." She almost choked on her words as shiver of fright made its way through her file system. 

She returned Megabyte's glare with matching ferocity. The glare was slowly replaced by confusion as she watched the virus's own glare fade into an expression, which at first, she couldn't put her finger on. Then it hit her, and it scrambled her files like an incoming game cube that she couldn't escape from. On his face,… this monster… this virus, was the look of… regret. 

_But that's impossible. He doesn't regret. He is a virus, a loathing, disgusting, degraded virus program._ Dot's train of though began to push a small inkling of doubt into her mind. _Is this why I came here. Is this what I was looking for?_. A look of pure revulsion came across her face. _Dear User, just get it over with. You're a horrible creature, a virus, and I hate you! … Don't I?_

"You disgust me!" She nearly spat in his face. "The lives you ruined for your enjoyment, the games you've played, the things you've done!" 

"The things I've done?!" He bellowed. Then he looked strait at her, a tinge of pain, yet some sort of sadistic pleasure, as if looking for an answer to his next question that would suit what he was feeling at that very moment. "Tell me, Miss Matrix, what disgusts you more… the fact that you kissed me… or the fact that you enjoyed it!" 

Dot was left completely speechless by this. All she could do was stare at him, searching for her own answer to the question. It was an answer that didn't have, or at least, didn't want to admit to having. After a moment of silence, the virus let the smile drop from his face. 

"You leave me no choice." He leaned away from her and found himself taking a pause. He was having trouble encouraging his assimilation tendrils from attacking her. 

_Why?_ He growled lightly as he looked at her face. _What was it? That strange sensation. Stop looking at me!_. That look in her eyes was degrading him, and he couldn't figure out why. It finally hit him, the force of it almost knocking him back, causing him to stumble slightly in his steps. _Impossible!_ he concluded to himself. _Wasn't it?_ Angered even more by these thoughts, he let out one final growl before turning his eyes away from her, unable to bear anymore of it. The tendrils finally escaped their master's hesitant grip and shot forth, crossing the room in search of their target. 

Dot heard herself scream as the tendrils raced to her and then through her, connecting right onto her PID, right on target. Then, there was nothing. She was still there, in that room, with that virus, but she couldn't move, or speak, or feel. Everything was numb. She couldn't feel it, but she knew the fear was there, with her. She could only watch, like an audience member at some strange play, unable to boo or applaud. She could do nothing except hope that AvA had been successfully transplanted. She stared blankly at Megabyte as his tendrils continued to drain her, each nano the world becoming ever more distant. 

_ What was that look, that look on his face. It wasn't regret anymore. Oh User no! He must know, he must of figured it out. He must know about A.v.A._ Her mind raced, but no words escaped her closed lips. _He must know… he must… What? I don't understand. Oh, no, get away from me! Get away!_. But she could do nothing as the virus leaned in to her again, his eyes staring down at her, his hand running across her cheek. _He doesn't know. Then what? What was this look, if not regret?_

"I'm, I'm sorry it had to be this way, Dot, but you left me no choice." He looked into those eyes of hers again, now lifeless and still. It was still there, however. That sensation was still there. He looked at his hand as is ran along her cheek, wiping away a small tear of data that must of fallen as she screamed. That scream had sent a chill down his spine. Not of enjoyment, like it usually would have, but of pain and sorrow. _Why? What was this_? 

_What was this? What was he doing?_ She thought in the darkened silence. More questions soon came into her mind, along with a terror and a silent scream as he drew in closer to her. He paused before her. _What do you want from me virus?_ She received an answer as he drew her motionless body into a kiss, dark and still… yet passionate. It was then that Dot realized what that look on his face was. _No! Dear User, what is happening?_

_What am I doing?_ He stumbled backwards, dropping Dot's motionless form back into the chair. _Impossible!_ He turned away from her and sank his claws into the cold metal of the desk. _When! When did this all happen, how did this start, and how did he allow this to creep into him? I'm a virus! I have no programming for this! It is impossible! I am incapable of love!_ Slowly his claws withdrew from the cold of the desk as a sudden thought passed through his files. 

He was a virus, incapable of love, it wasn't in his programming. A guardian… Bob… however, wasn't. He slowly began to growl. He had taken Glitch and Bob's code in order to infiltrate the core, and in the end survive the web. He never thought that Bob's code might some how infect his own programming. _Of course. Its not me. Its Bob. Bob and his blasted code!_ He turned and looked back at Dot, thinking that this realization would alleviate the feelings from before. He thought that now that he understood the source he could fight the sensation. Those eyes, however, sent the same sensation up his spine. He found himself regretting again, sad again, and he felt love again. He let a large viral scream echo through the room as he lifted his claws above him in rage. 

"Damn you Guardian!" 

*************** ************* 


	5. The Awakening

**Part 5: The Awakening**

****************** 

"Bob, would you come on! You cant be late, Dot will skin your files!" 

Bob looked up at Matrix, but didn't answer. _What… where… what's going on… _

"Bob! You awake? Oh, don't tell me your getting frosty feet now!" Matrix poked Bob. 

"What? " _This is strange. _Matrix poked him again, followed by a growl from Frisket. 

"Ya ok! I'm awake! Do I look ok?" Bob found himself looking into a long mirror, adjusting his dress uniform. 

"You look fine! Better than me." Matrix gave a sigh as Bob smirked at him. Matrix in a tuxedo, almost worth risking a laugh at his expense. Almost. 

"Alright then, " Bob took in a long breath. "lets do this." _Do what… what's going on… Wait! I know this place…_ All thoughts were left in the distant haze as Bob stepped through a darkened doorway and walked into the light. 

The light of the grand hallway was enough to blind any sprite. The several camera flashes didn't help matters either. Bob's eyes slowly adjusted as Matrix walked up to him. Bob gave him a nod, then took a better look around the hall. It was amazing. Ceazal really had gone all out, just like he had promised. It was beyond amazing… It was perfect. 

"Bob, breath." Matrix nudged him gently. 

"Oh, yah." Bob finally took in a breath. "Well… ?" He was just about to ask where she was when the great hall filled with a new source of light as the massive doors opened. The light no longer blinded him, but the sight that followed the light into the grand hall took his breath away. _Amazing. Just like I dreamed it would be._

Dot slowly made her way up the aisle, following the procession of Mouse and AndrAIa. She gave a large smile to those seated, then let her eyes look up to the front. Bob had to remind himself to breath again. _Breath. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Nothing is going to go wrong. Everything is going to be perfect. Inhale, exhale. The troubles are gone and distant. You are going to be happy. Inhale, exhale. You are going to spend the rest of your processes with the sprite of your dreams. Inhale, exhale. You get to spend every waking nano being happy, with Dot. Inhale, exhale. _

Bob smiled as she drew nearer, then gave a smiling nod to Wellman Matrix as he accepted Dot's hand from him. _Wait…Wellman is a null. I thought… quit thinking and breath you idiot… and smile at her!_ Bob gave Dot a smile, but her face was hidden now, behind the veil. 

"Well my son, are you going to lift the veil and look at her pretty face?" Phong interjected. 

"Oh, sorry." He heard himself whisper. _Lift the veil you basic. Duh!. _ He gave the figure another smile and began to lift the veil. _This is it, the moment you have been waiting for. Breath! _ "I love you Do…." _What! no!_

"Give us a kiss!" Megabyte's face mocked him from underneath the bridal crown. 

****** 

"Gah No!" Bob woke up flailing his arms at a virus that wasn't there. He looked around the quiet apartment, the sound of his heavy breathing filling the silent void. He blinked a few times, then pinched himself to make sure he was actually awake. _What a dream…or a nightmare. _ He fell back against the couch with a hard sigh and ran his fingers through his mussed hair. It had seemed so real. His eyes fell to the picture on the coffee table, her eyes and smile still beaming up at him. He had wanted it so much to be real. 

"Oh good, your awake!" Enzo walked out of the bathroom, his processes fully functioning. 

"Huh?!" Bob felt himself jump. He sighed and looked to Enzo, then gave the young sprite a small smile. "Hi Enzo." 

"Well Bob, this is the cycle! We are all meeting at the bunker in twenty kilisecs, so you better get a move on and get ready! Oh, and AndrAIa said something about breakfast being served." Enzo shrugged. 

"Ok Enzo, lets go then." He gave a last look around the apartment, and one last look at the picture of Dot. _It will be real, somecycle._ He gave Enzo a smile and then led him out the door. 

********* 

"Ah! So nice to see you smiling again, Dot." Megabyte gave her a small grin as he kept his voice out of earshot from the rest of the room. 

Dot smiled widely at him, like a statue. _I'm only smiling at you because you commanded me to you son of a bi.._ Her thoughts were cut off as Megabyte gave her a new order. 

"Now, do us all a favor and pull up file 1032j and sub-file 489g, as well as those maps you were working on earlier." The dark smile from the virus was unending, but it still held that small tinge of emotional doubt that Dot had noticed before. 

Dot felt herself begin to turn, the smile still plastered on her face. _Don't turn, don't turn, don't turn…cursors!_ She turned and walked up to the panel and pulled up the requested information. 

"Very good Miss. Matrix. Heir Doctor!" He turned his eyes from her and looked across the room. "How is our patient coming with those PID location bitmaps?" 

"Oh, ya iz 'underful, mine heir Meg-n-byte-n! All are input on dis pad." The Doctor held up a black planner pad for the room to see, a droned Phong beside him. Phong had been connected to a series of compilers all night. The necessary information had been sucked from his body, a body that was unable to fight back, no matter how much Phong cursed in his thoughts. 

"Grand. Now, Miss Matrix, pull up file b33102 and begin inputting the new bitmap data in the command line." 

Megabyte watched the good doctor hand Dot the pad. The doctor winked at the droned Dot, and Megabyte found himself growling slighting under his breath. The doctor must of taken note of this because he cowered and scurried off to find something else to occupy himself. Megabyte blinked, and then furrowed his eyes in anger at himself for having growled at something so… un-virus, un-Megabyte. He soon let a small and dark smile slither its way across his steel blue face as he watched her at the control panel. He had her. She would do anything that he wanted, with out protest or reaction. He frowned slightly. _Without reaction. A puppet. _ He pushed the encroaching guardian code out of his files and smiled again. _Oh-well, she is still mine._ He chuckled softly and continued to watch her. 

Dot's body moved with an unwavering steadiness as it completed its master's task. He had her body completely under his control. _I'm a puppet_, she thought as her fingers moved along the control panel. She couldn't feel her fingers on the panel, or the movement of her body, or his eyes watching her back. But she knew they were watching her. Although she couldn't feel it, she new that a sadness and a great feeling of doubt were present with her in the black void of her mind. _It didn't work. A.v.A. failed. If it had worked, there should have been at least something happening…right? Megabyte was still as strong as ever, and she and the rest were still drones. Its ok, don't panic, you'll figure something out, Bob will.. _ Her thoughts were stopped suddenly as something new came into that dark place where her thoughts resided. _What was that?_ She desperately tried to recall it, to find where it came from, but it was gone. 

He watched her with a silent pleasure, his eyes darting about the room ever so often to make sure his new interest in her had gone unnoticed. _Who would dare question me if it had_. He frowned lightly. _I would. I'm a virus remember. _ He pushed the thoughts out of his head and let the smile return to his face. Then with a blink, the room disappeared, and then reappeared. He looked up quickly and realized that he had missed more than a blink's worth of nanoseconds. _What was that? Why did I black out like that? The guardian code infecting my files again, perhaps?_ He looked around the room with a raised eyebrow. _How odd_. He blinked and the room slowed again, the second blink bringing it back up to speed. _There it is again!_

_There it is again!_ Dot desperately tried to hold onto it, the grasp that sensation. _There! There it is!_ She found herself looking down at the control panel and watched her hand slide across its surface to touch an icon. _And again! Its my hand! I can feel the control panel. I can feel. How? _She searched for other sensations, but none came. _I have a hand…well that's better than nothing._ She touched a few more icons to send her mind the sensation again, each time the feeling getting stronger and more controlled. Then her mind reeled as she began to fell her feet as the walked from one panel to the next. _How? He must be loosing control. If only I could make my head look around the room. Stop following orders!_ Her command got no response for her body who continued to input the data onto the bitmap. _Not quite there yet. _She wondered if the others were beginning to wake up from their numb sleep as well, and how long it would take to completely wake up. _It was working! Dear User, A.v.A. was working after all._

******** 

"Almost Sugah. The little surprise should be hooked up ta my ship in the next half a milisec." Mouse gave Bob a smile from the vid window that floated in the middle of the bunker. "Just you worry 'bout your ASCIIs." 

"Alright Mouse, let us know as soon as that signal enhancer comes to life. Ray and I are leaving now, and the rest of the troops are ready to go." Bob responded. 

"Ok then Honey. You folks take care." She looked around the bunker at the CPUs, the sprites she now called her friends, and Ray. She smiled a bit wider, and then winked. "Meet you back at location Alpha. Over and out." The vid window popped out of the bunker. 

"Ok. Ray, lets go." Bob hopped onto his zip board. 

"Lets do this!" Matrix almost smiled, the fight drawing ever nearer. His excitement ran through the troops who sent up a large cheer as Bob and Ray left the bunker. 

"Bob! Can I come?" Enzo zipped up beside Bob, Hack and Slash not too far behind. 

"Sorry Enzo, but I need you here." He searched for a task to give Enzo. 

"Ahhw Bob, what can I do here?" Enzo protested. 

"I need you too…uhm… make sure that the CPUs don't get nervous!" Bob smiled, _good thinking_. "They know we are expecting a good fight, so I need to you keep there moral up. They need your courage Enzo." _Perfect_

"Alright." Enzo sighed, something telling him it was just busy work. "If you really need me to stay." 

"I do Enzo." Bob griped Enzo's shoulder as he nodded to the young sprite. "I do." 

"Alright Bob. Just… Just be careful, ok?" 

"I promise." Bob squeezed Enzo's shoulder again. Enzo gave him a smile, saluted, and then sped off toward the bunker. Bob looked at the two bots. "Hack, Slash… come here please." 

"Oh yes, right away." 

"Oh yes, coming right away, Bob." 

"Yes Bob, what can _I_ do." 

"Yes Bob, what can _we_ do?" 

"I need you two to keep Enzo from leaving this bunker, at all costs. Understand? Its very important." 

"Oh yes Bob!" 

"That we can do! 

"We will do this, we promise." 

"Yes, we will not fail!" They both saluted and sped off after Enzo. 

"I hope not." Bob sighed, not exactly confident in their ability. He knew, however, that they would try. They always tried. He watched the three disappear into the bunker before speeding off to catch up to Ray. _Now, to find that tear_. 

****** 

He allowed the small grin to return to his face, those strange sensations of missed time seeming to have stopped. He watched her move with every command that he gave her. The tasks were menial and could have just as well been accomplished by another of his drones. Dot, however, was much more rewarding to control. He wondered what she was thinking. _Thinking of a plan, no doubt. Or perhaps she is wondering when her precious guardian was going to rush in and save her from the viral monster. _ He had to laugh at that. _Bob is taking longer than usual to save the day. He must know that he cant possibly win this time._ His next chuckle was full of his own arrogance. _Or, perhaps…_ His thinking changed directions as the smile began to fade. _Perhaps he is afraid that if he would rush in here now, that Dot would surely die. Is he worried? Is he planning? Is he afraid? What would I do… if Dot was… _ He blinked again and growled, pushing those horribly emotional thoughts out of his head. _Something must be done about this blasted guardian infection I have. _

"Heir doctor, a word with you." He glanced over to the doctor, and blinked. Time slowed again. When he opened his eyes back up, the doctor was standing in front of him with a raised brow. 

"Uhm… mine heir… are you alright?" 

"Yes, of course. I was simply thinking. You should try it sometime." He countered, refusing to appear weak in front of everyone in the room. _What is wrong with me_. He was weakening. It was a strange feeling, almost a nausea, in the pit of his files. 

"Oh, yah, of course Lord Meg-n-byte-n." The doctor gave his usually entertaining laugh at the joke, or what he hoped was a joke. 

"One moment heir doctor." He turned away from him, the good doctor stopping his laughter, and turned to Dot. _Something is not right. What doesn't add up. Its almost been three full cycles. No Matrix, no Guardian, no plan at all. Unless…_ his eyes suddenly widened. "Miss Matrix, pull up PID bitmap, grid 9, sector KIT." 

_Don't move, don't move, don't move_ Dot concentrated as hard as she could, and no movement came. She then felt a small smile spreading across her lips as the warmth of her own body came back to her senses. She slowly reached down and hit the black icon on her belt. 

****** 

"Bob! Bob, come in!" Mouse's voice called out over the radio from her ship. "Bob, we have a signal. I repeat. We have a signal. Do you copy?" 

"Copy here, luv." 

"Ray? Where's Bob." 

"Busy making a portal sweetheart." 

"Good work boys." 

"Mouse, " Bob yelled over his shoulder. "Is that firewall down yet?" 

"You bet Sugah, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this hole open for." 

"We'll just have to hope Dot makes it in time." Bob put in before turning back to stabilizing the tear that Ray had enlarged. 

"Don't you worry luv, We'll handle things here." 

"Quit sweet talking Ray and go help Bob." Mouse could almost feel Ray smirking at her over the radio. She hung up the line and focused on keeping the hole in the firewall stable. 

******* 

"Miss Matrix, have we gone deaf? Open PID bitmap, grid 9, sector KIT. Now, Miss Matrix." Again, he got no response from her. _No! What is happening!_ "Now Miss Matrix!" he growled at her, his anger rising as he felt himself loosing control of his surroundings. 

"Nnnnn…" Dot slowly forced her body to turn around to him, that smile still on her face. She pushed words past her lips, her fine motor control not yet under her full grasp. "Nnnnn..oo…" 

"What?!" Megabyte blinked again, losing time for a moment. _Did she just tell me no?_

"Nnnnoo. D..d..do it yoooour…self…you…you son of a bitch" She finished with a resolute and dark smile, her motor function system completely under her control now. 

"How is this possible?!" Megabyte rose and began walking across the room toward her. "Heir Doctor! What is going on?" He felt a sudden wave of dizziness, followed by a stumble in his steps as his knees became weak. "What is this!" 

"Oh! Mine heir Meg-n-byte-n!" The doctor rushed with an analyzer to his side. 

"Jusssst.." Dot paused as she tried to gain better control over her speech. "Just a little surprise. You do like surprises, don't you _virus!_ " 

"Gah!." Megabyte growled in pain as he regained his balance. 

"Oh my! According to this… it is true… Heir Meg-n-byte-n has been infected…" 

"What?! That blasted infection of Bob's Guardian code is doing this?" Megabyte sneered at the doctor. 

"What?" Dot raised an eyebrow. 

"No, Heir Meg-n-byte-n… it is an anti virus program!" the doctor cowered. 

Megabyte turned to Dot and glared a vicious viral green. _She has betrayed me! Dot why?_ He sneered a low growl as he began to make his way toward her, pushing bynomes and control panels across the room to clear a path. _Because you're a virus, you fool! Not a Guardian! Now act like a virus!_ He howled and unfurled his claws and pushed the pain in his files back, heading for her in a dead run. 

Dot watched his approach with increased heart beats. _Where is the portal!_ She clenched her fists and stared strait at him. She refused to cower before him again. She wasn't afraid anymore. Let him come. 

******* 

"Glitch stabilize!" Glitch sent out a beam of energy that stabilized the portal in front of Bob. Bob looked to the portal with clenched fists, its rounded reflection of the control room at the P.O. warped and silent. _Come on Dot._

**** 

"Come on virus!" Dot screamed at him with all the anger and courage she could muster. 

Megabyte rose up before her, his golden claws ready to strike her. He was a virus, and was going to act like one, no matter what the strange emotions inside of him were telling him to do. Dot didn't close her eyes. She didn't even flinch. She stared strait into his eyes. Megabyte shifted his weight to the other foot and let his claws aim and then head for their target…Dot's throat. 

"Gah! Let go!" Megabyte growled as the null bot of Wellman Matrix grabbed onto one of his arms. 

"Run Daughter! I have him!" Wellman jerked Megabyte off of his feet, then stumbled backwards as a portal formed in between them. 

"No! A portal!" Megabyte's eyes widened and he looked at Dot. "Doctor, get that firewall back up! NOW!" 

"Go my childe!" Phong rolled up to Dot. 

Dot looked at the portal, and then Phong and her father. "I cant.." 

"GO! " Wellman commanded his daughter. Suddenly, his grip on Megabyte was lost as a strong hit threw him across the room. 

"Dad!" Dot reached for him, then looked up as the pain stricken face of Megabyte howled, his arms outstretched to her. "No!" She quickly hit the delete-tree function on the files she had been working, destroying the information. 

"NO!" Megabyte snarled and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her back from the portal. 

"Phong!" Dot tossed him the pad with the last of the PID location data at him before kicking him through the portal. 

"My childe, no!" Phong's voice disappeared as he fell into the portal. Then the portal was no more. 

"We have the firewall back up sir!" a viral bynome yelled. 

"No!" Dot heard herself scream, then there was only darkness as her head hit the back wall, knocking her unconscious. 

****** 

"I think somthins com'n through, mate!" Ray got out before a flash of light illuminated in the portal, followed by a yelling Phong. Ray raced down with Baud to pick Phong up before he plummeted to the ground. Phong was clutching the planner Dot had given him. 

"Phong?" Bob looked down, then back to the portal. "C'mon Dot!" Then the portal disappeared. "NO!" Bob yelled at the empty space where the portal had been. 

"Boys!" Mouse's voice came over the radio on Ray's belt. "I've lost control of the firewall. I repeat I've lost control. Did you get Dot. Boys? Did you get Dot?" 

"No luv, we got Phong instead." Ray answered. 

"What?! I'm on my way!" Mouse yelled across the line. 

"No, Mouse!" Bob called out. He continued to stare at that blank space where Dot should have fallen into his arms. He choked back the emotions building up inside of him and clenched his fists. "Meet at position Alpha… and call Matrix. Tell him to assemble the troops." He darkened his glare at the empty space. "This ends now." 

******* 


	6. The Storm

**Part 6: The Storm**

"SCRAMBLE SCRAMBLE SCRAMBLE " 

The order echoed across the four bunkers as CPUs took to the air and ground tanks put their massive hover motors in motion. The base was a sea of movement as bynomes and numerals made their way to their vehicles or found their spot in formation among the ground support troops. Whispers of the oncoming fight made their way through the fields, followed by either cheers of elation of low shutters of fear. More often than not, it was both. For once, they would be going to the battle…playing the game of offence instead of defense. 

Across the bunker, a crate flew into the path of incoming CPUs who quickly dodged to the left. The empty ammunitions crate smashed into a million pixels when it hit the far wall. This crate was followed by another, and then another. The shredded remains destabilized and disappeared into the ground only to be followed by another smashed crate. Each crate was accompanied by a series of grunts and angry yells. Matrix was in one of his unhappy moods. 

"Is he always like this before a fight?" Enzo sat on a crate next to AndrAIa, swinging his legs and watching Matrix take out his aggressions on a few defenseless boxes. 

"Pretty much." AndrAIa had to smile at that. She sighed and looked back at Enzo. "He's just upset because Dot didn't make it through the portal. Now Megabyte has a bargaining chip." AndrAIa followed the next crate with her eyes as it flew past. 

"Yah, that part of Dot's plan didn't go so well. But I know Sis will work it out. She always does." His confidence in his sister made AndrAIa smile. Enzo rolled his eyes as Matrix picked up yet another box. "Is he just gonna do that until he runs out of boxes?" 

"Or until I get him to stop." AndrAIa winked at the young Enzo and then turned her eyes to the older Enzo, her Enzo. "Matrix…I think the big bad boxes have learned their lessons." 

"What?" He looked up at the two sitting on the crate. He rolled his eyes and dropped the box he was about to throw and headed over. "Didn't realize I had an audience." He looked down at Enzo. "You should be back at bunker Gama3 with the rest of the civilians." 

"Ha! Yah right…and miss all the fun? Have you gone random?" Enzo wasn't about to go and sit in a bunker with a bunch of women and children bynomes. 

"No arguments. I don't have time for it right now." Matrix crossed his arms, looking down at his younger self. 

"Ah c'mon Matrix." AndrAIa smiled up at him. 

"Don't tell me your on his side!" Matrix rolled his eyes. 

"Ah c'mon Big-Me! Would you have sat in the civilian bunker during a fight with ole Megajerk?" Enzo refused to back down. 

"Well…no…but that was different!" 

"How?" Enzo pushed. 

"It just was. It was me…not you…I mean…gah…" 

"Cant think of an excuse to give yourself, can you Sparky?" AndrAIa had to keep herself from laughing. 

"If you get hurt, Dot will delete me!" Matrix finally finished. 

"No she wont." Enzo grinned up at his larger self. 

"Why?" Matrix nearly kicked himself for asking. 

"Because," Enzo laughed and pointed behind him at Hack and Slash who were busy fighting about something. "Dot will delete them. They were the ones who where supposed to keep me in the bunker, not you. Besides, who says I'm gonna get hurt anyway." 

"I don't know, Enzo…" Matrix was so close to giving in. He remembered how much he hated being left behind. 

"Please!" 

"C'mon Sparky. If I remember right, Enzo here should be pretty good at manning the cannons." AndrAIa smiled up at him, remembering how good her Enzo had been on those cannons during the web wars. 

"Well…" Matrix scratched the back of his head. "Alright." 

"Alphanumeric! Superfrosty!" Enzo couldn't believe he actually agreed. 

"But stay close! And no wild stuff! And if you get in trouble, just get out of the sector and meet at the dinner later. And no.." 

"Whoa Big-Me! Your starting to sound like Dot!" Enzo and AndrAIa laughed. 

"Am not!" Matrix crossed his arms, and then raised his eyebrow. "Am I?" 

"Sir! All lines are ready and deployed. We will be convened in designated position Alpha in ten killiseconds." The Bynome saluted and then adjusted his helmet. 

"Good!" Matrix nodded to the bynome and then turned to AndrAIa and Enzo. "Ready?" 

They both nodded and stood. "Lets do it!", they all said in unison before heading to their vehicles; AndrAIa on her heavily armed jet bike, and Matrix in a converted CPU convertible, with Enzo at the back guns. 

"Woohoo!" Enzo yelled as they took off to join the rest of the fleet. 

"Dot is going to delete me." Matrix mumbled under his breath as he drove the car out of the bunker. 

******* 

Tick. Tick. Tick. _Where?_ Tick. Tick. Tick. _What?_ Tick. Tick. Tick. _Its so dark. _ Tick. Tick. Tick. _So cold._ Tick. Tick. Tick. _My head hurts. I cant open my eyes_. Tick. Tick. Tick. _What is that noise?_

The steady beat from his metallic digits on the hard surface of the desk echoed off the walls of the dimly lit room as he watched her. His stare was unending, as steady as the rhythm of the beat, and as dark as the room in which the two existed. He had been sitting in that same position for over a millisecond, endlessly drumming his fingers, trying to calm himself as he waited for her to awake. She had betrayed him, or at least that is what the small emotional tinge in his files told him. All logic, however, continued to remind him that she had not betrayed him. He was a virus after all. She was only doing her usual planning and scheming to get rid of him for good. He couldn't blame her for that, it wasn't the first time… nor would it be the last. For the first time, however, he was hurt by it. Weither or not it was the fact that she had betrayed him or that he actually felt betrayed that angered him the most was still to be determined. The ticking paused for a moment as he looked at her form move slightly. She was finally beginning to wake up. 

Dot moved slightly, her head throbbing. _At least that noise has stopped_. She began to fidget more as she tried desperately to force her eyes open. _I cant move my arms._ She tried again, and her eyes opened, but her arms still wouldn't move. She blinked lightly as her eyes focused in the darkness. He was there, watching her from the shadows. She could see the green hue of his eyes, staring at her. She wetted her dry and cracked lips and looked up to find her hands bound by hover-clamps. She looked down and realized that her feet weren't touching the ground. _How long have I been out?_ she wondered. 

"Ah…finally awake are we?" His voice was full of anger, yet soft and unusual. 

"Where…" Dot paused, forcing her aching head to produce coherent thoughts, slightly hazed by the strangeness of his voice. "am I, virus?" 

"Does it matter, Dot?" He paused momentarily…wishing he could make himself quit calling her by her first name. He took in a low breath, wincing from a stabbing pain in the darkness. "It doesn't matter. Your plan has failed. The hunt will still continue, I still have the Principle Office, and…" he grimaced as another tinge of pain hit him again…"I still have you." 

"And…you have A.v.A." She countered with a small smile. 

"Oh…is that what you call this little program of yours? Well.." He paused again and had to grind his teeth to keep a small gasp of agonizing pain from filling the silence in the room. 

"Your enjoying A.v.A.'s company I see?" She looked at him and widened her smile, her lips cracking a bit. A small amount of green blood formed in the corner of her mouth, but it was worth it to her. 

"The pain is minimal, Dot. It will not be with me much longer, either. The good Doctor is already working on a way to rid me of this little…indigestion." He returned the smile to her. 

"But you have lost control of your drones, virus, and of me. What else have you lost? And are you so sure that the good Doctor can help?" Her voice was pushed out of her heavy chest. The pain from having her arms held above her was beginning to make itself known as she became ever more alert and conscious. 

"You should be more concerned with your present situation at the moment, not mine." He forced himself to stand, using the table as leverage for his weakened legs. "Your little plan of infecting me and then escaping to freedom has failed." 

"Oh, yes." She paused to draw in another labored breath. "What ever am I to do now?" Her sarcasm finished with a small laugh. "You really think I am that basic. I thought you had more respect for me than that." she mocked him with a frown. 

"That wasn't your plan? All along your plan was to infect me, and then get Phong and the PID list out, and that's it?" He walked closer to her. 

"Maybe…" her breath wheezed a bit. "Maybe it was…and maybe it wasn't. Wouldn't you like to know…virus." She laughed at him again. 

"Don't toy with me Dot!" He dug his golden claws into the wall beside her head and leaned in close to her. His eyes narrowed as she continued to laugh. 

"But I thought you liked playing games." She gulped for air as her breath became harder and harder to catch, the weight of her chest pulling down on her shoulders becoming burdensome. "You know, toying with people's lives for your…what was…it…your amusement." Her eyes left him for a moment as she desperately tried to draw in her next breath. 

He glared at her for a long moment as she spoke. After her last labored breath, he knew she would black out again soon for lack of air. He sighed and reached up to the hover-clamps and pulled them down the wall until her feet touched the floor. He smiled slightly as she at last drew in a full breath. He quickly returned the viral sneer as she opened her eyes again. 

"Yes. It amused me at the time. What better way to get back into the system?" He paused for a moment as she glared at him, her breaths heavy to regain the lost air. "Then, it became more of a way to see just how well I could fool you, to test out my new…ability. Needless to say, I was quite…pleased…with the results of the test." 

Dot was unable to look at him after that. She sneered, her lips cracking and bleeding again, and downcast her eyes. "You have no care, do you, for the lives you destroyed for your pleasure…for your sick little test game." She laughed at herself for even thinking of the possibility. 

"Of course not." He turned quickly from her. "I'm a virus." He crossed his arms at his chest, pushing back the feeling of remorse that did exists. He closed his eyes, and the world went black. He opened his eyes with a searing pain as he fell to his knees. He clawed at the ground as another wave of stabbing pain hit him. He could feel the anti viral program reordering his files, and his own viral program fighting back. It was a war inside of him, and he could feel every bit of it. 

"I hope that hurts as much as it looks like it does." Dots words, unknowingly, caused him almost as much pain as the war inside of him did. "I hope A.v.A. takes your programming and turns it inside out, and then rips you wide open, leaving you gasping and writhing in pain." 

"Such, " he slowly turned and looked up at her with a mocking grin, still on his knees. "Such words, Dot." 

"Not words, Megabyte. Those are truths. I want you to feel everything you have caused me to suffer, and everyone you have brought suffering to in your pathetic and miserable existence." 

"I hope you don't mind being disappointed." He stood and looked to her, his body having one that battle against the anti viral program. He was stronger now, and it would take more than that to stop him. He laughed at her for a moment. 

"As you can see, Miss. Matrix, I am winning. Your little A.v.A. is failing. All of your plans are failing." He leaned in close to her again. his grin growing darker and wider. 

"All your hopes are failing, Dot. I will win. Mainframe will be mine again, and there isn't a single thing your friends or that poor excuse for a Guardian can do to save you." He wiped away the blood from her lips and smiled menacingly at her. 

"You are mine." He leaned in to kiss her again, the little tinges of emotions rising back to the surface. The fact that she sneered at him and did her best to turn away only made those emotions more intense. He began to wonder if perhaps this emotional infection of his was such a bad thing after all. He jerked her head and held it firmly in place as he leaned in, the disgusted look in her eyes almost causing him to pause. 

"Sir! We have important ne….." The viral bynome lost his words, and almost his lunch, as he stood in the doorway. He realized the mortal mistake he had made by not knocking first. 

"What is it?" Megabyte sneered at him in a low growl as he leaned away from Dot. "What news?" He looked forward to deleting that rude bynome later. 

"Uhm… we.." He watched as Dot spit onto the floor, then continued. " We have reports of a gathering of forces by the CPUs just outside of KIT sector, Sir." 

"So…The Guardian is making a plan of his own, is he?" he looked to Dot. "This should be interesting…if not amusing." He turned back to the Bynome. "Get the forces assembled…and tell the Doctor I am in need of my next injection. The sooner I rid myself of this A.v.A. the better." 

"Yes Sir!" The bynome saluted and turned to leave. 

"Oh, and Lieutenant… You will be taking point." 

"Yes…sir…" The bynome gulped slightly and headed out, thinking there were worse ways he could have been deleted. 

"Well, Dot." He turned back to her as he stood in the open doorway.. "Looks like your friends are trying their own skills at planning. My forces will crush them before they even have a chance to mount a rescue attempt on the Principle Office." He chuckled arrogantly. "We will…continue this later, yes?" He laughed even more and turned to take control of the army, leaving Dot in the dark room. 

"We shall see, virus…We shall see." She began to laugh quietly. Her plan was working. 

********* 

"I need you to take Phong and this planner back to Bunker Gamma3 as quickly as possible. Dot has risked her files for this information, so it must remain secure at all costs!" Bob hovered beside the CPU on his zip-board, yelling over the noise of the gathering troops above and below them. 

"Yes Sir!" The Lieutenant saluted. 

"Be careful, my son." Phong still held tightly to the PID location planner. 

"Don't worry, Phong, I will. I will get her back." 

"I know you will, Bob." He nodded slowly, gave a small smile, then nodded to the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant saluted to Bob again and then pulled away to toward the bunkers, four other CPUs following close behind. 

"Any sign of Mouse yet, Ray?" Bob called over his shoulder as he watched Phong leave. 

"Right behind ya Sugar!" Mouse waved from the inside of her cockpit as she flew up beside Ray and Bob. 

"Everything ready luv?" Ray asked through the radio on his belt. 

"Ready and wait'n Honey." She gave Ray a wink and then pointed to the third wave of CPUs as they flew in. "And there's Matrix now." 

"Good." Bob nodded. "You two get in position. We don't want Megabyte to realize what's going on until its to late." 

"Aye aye Capt'n." Mouse winked and saluted then flew off. 

"Your not so bad at this command stuff after all, mate." He laughed at the expression on Bob's face and took off after Mouse. 

Bob shook his head in a small laugh, then headed over to where Matrix and AndrAIa were convened. He blinked at the sight that caught his eyes. 

"Dot is going to delete you." Bob flew up beside Matrix. 

"Tell me something I don't know." Matrix smirked. 

"And I'm going to delete those two bots." Bob sighed and shook his head. "Enzo, you sho.." 

"Shouldn't be here. Yah yah yah.. I know." Enzo rolled his eyes. "I wont get in the way, I promise Bob. I just couldn't sit at some bunker while Dot was in trouble!" 

"And I did need someone to man my back guns." Matrix couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. 

"Alright." Bob sighed, but smiled. "Just .." 

"Be careful!" Enzo, Matrix, AndrAIa and Bob all said together. They laughed, and that laughter felt good. The troops that heard it cheered and revved their CPUs. Then the laughter stopped as a missile exploded into a nearby building. The ABCs had arrived. 

"Alright everyone, this is it! Remember, Stall and evade! I repeat, Stall and Evade. We have to make this battle last until the trap can be set!" Bob called out over the his headset. 

"And you said I was beginning to sound like Dot?" Matrix smirked at Enzo who just shrugged. They Both grinned and nodded to each other. It was a strange feeling, working beside his younger self. He was afraid Enzo would get hurt, but also proud in a strange big brother sort of way. He nodded again, then winked at AndrAIa who revved her bike in response. "Lets do this!" They took off with the first forces of CPUs to Stall and Evade…and maybe a little ABC deletion too. 

******** 

"Sir!" The ABC pulled up beside Megabytes temporary vehicle as the window rolled down. Megabyte was forced to do without his limo for now. "All ABCs are in position and have started to engage the CPUs. I don't think they were expecting us Sir. They are running away and evading us, even breaking formations!" 

"Excellent." Megabyte grinned and nodded to the ABC. "Hit them with everything we have. Chase them down and destroy them. I want nothing left undeleted!" 

"Yes Sir!" The viral bynome saluted with a sadistic pleasure, glad to have that last order. He sped off in the ABC to join the ranks. 

"Looks like Bob isn't such a good planner after all, hmmm Miss Matrix?" The virus grinned at Dot who sat across from him, her hands and feet bound by hover clamps. He had brought her along for the sole purpose of watching her friends being deleted. He rolled his eyes as Dot said nothing and just stared blankly at him 

"Heir Doctor, how is the cure coming?" He turned to the Doctor who sat beside him. 

"Ah, is good heir Meg-n-byte-n! Three more injections should be all zat is needed!" 

"Excellent." He grinned at Dot. "You see, I am wining." He growled lightly as a missile flew by a little to close, rocking the temporary limo. "I think it is time we landed somewhere, yes?" 

"Yes Sir!" the driver saluted and landed on the tops of one of the buildings. 

"Perfect. Get the vid windows up. We don't want to miss a single deletion, do we Miss Matrix?" He chuckled at her as her blank expression turned into a sneer. 

****** 

"Enzo! 5'oclock!" Matrix barked as he turned the vehicle sharply to the left. 

"I see it." Enzo aimed the gun and shot three blasts of plasma fire. The second shot went through the middle of the ABC's intake manifold. "Alright!" Enzo smiled as the ABC spiraled down to the ground, its pilot parachuting to safety. 

"Good work!" Matrix yelled over his shoulder, slightly impressed. Then he jerked a hard right as three more ABCs took up where the last one left off. "AndrAIa now!" 

"Way ahead of ya Sparky!" AndrAIa shot out a large net from the front of her bike. The net expanded and enveloped two of the ABCs, then collapsed. The wire from the net caught on one of the many pipelines in that sector, leaving the two ABCs dangling in mid air. 

"Don't go anywhere boys!" AndrAIa waved a smile at the virals in the cockpits of the ABCs and then flew off to deal with the one she missed. 

****** 

"I do say Binky, this evade maneuvering is quite exhausting." 

"Yes, quite. Cocoa sir?" 

****** 

"Hands up Surfer! Your surrounded! Your just lucky the boss wants you alive." The Viral sneered over the intercom from his ABC. 

"Well." Ray looked around at the four ABCs that had him surrounded. "Your joking, right?" 

"What? Why would I be?" The viral raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because of that?" Ray grinned and pointed behind the ABC and Mouse's much larger ship as it aimed its main armament at the viral's forehead. 

"Oh." Was all the viral could get out before his ABC disappeared behind a puff of smoke and fire. The other ABCs withdrew immediately, only to be chased by AndrAIa. 

"Thanks luv." Ray smiled up at Mouse. 

"Anytime Sugah. Now, what do ya say we go and follow Bob's orders. And this time, watch your ASCII." She blew him a kiss and took off. 

"Rather watch yours luv." He grinned and flew after her on Baud. 

"I heard that honey." Mouse interjected. 

Ray looked down to see his radio was still on and shook his head in a laugh before dodging another envoy of ABCs. 

******** 

"Sir! Megabyte has landed on the roof of the Circon Industries building." 

"Perfect." Bob smiled into the headset. "How is the maneuvering going?" 

"Very well Sir. The strategy seems to be working, and we have had little injuries and no casualties." 

"Good. As soon as our surprise arrives, you know what to do! I'm going to go deal with Megabyte." 

"Yes Sir! And good luck!" The bynome's helmet shifted as he saluted and then sped off in his CPU. 

"Matrix, AndrAIa!" He called out over the radio. "Big ugly has landed. Meet me at Circon Industries." 

"Alright, on our way Bob." Matrix gruffed out over a background noise of blasts and joyful shouts from Enzo. 

"Enzo, I need you back at the base to take care of the wounded we have coming in. No argume…" 

"On my way Bob." Enzo chimed in over the radio. 

"Thanks Enzo." Bob smiled. The smile disappeared as he neared the Circon building and caught view of the Virus, and of Dot. 

****** 

"C'mon Bob! All have to do is aim Gun and I have a clear shot ta him right between the eyes." Matrix grumbled in a coarse whisper. They were positioned two buildings away, the battle still raging both below and above them. Matrix's muscles tensed as he glared across the short expanse to where Megabyte stood. 

"No, Matrix." Bob took his eyes away from Glitch's scope for a moment. "Its too risky. We don't know what condition Dot is in. Besides, I… " 

"Yah yah. You want him alive, I know." Matrix sneered, preferring him dead at the moment. 

"Ok, so when do we go?" AndrAIa looked at the two with one hand on her hip. 

"Right now." Glitch returned the scope to its casing as Bob got back onto his zip board. "You know what to do." He nodded and then took off toward the Circon Industries building. 

"Yah, just hope you know what your doing." Matrix sighed, still thinking it was a better idea just to delete the virus. 

"Of course he does lover. It's a good plan." AndrAIa flashed him a smile. 

"But now he has Dot. That could change things. I just think.." 

"Your doing it again…" 

"Doing what?" 

"Worrying to much." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "C'mon, we have a task to fulfill." 

Matrix sighed and watched her go. He turned his eyes back to the virus, his targeting eye focused in on the source of his aggression and hate. He refocused his vision on Dot, who was on her knees beside the virus, controlled by the hover claps around her wrists and ankles. He growled and picked up Gun, targeting back onto Megabyte's forehead. No desire in the system could overtake his want to see the head of that Virus disappear behind his bullet. He wavered a bit, Gun slightly shaking out of its target. No desire in the net, except one. His vision focused back onto Dot. The desire not to look like a monster in her eyes…not to become that which he hated. Matrix drew in a deep breath and allowed Gun to take its position back on his hip. He look out at the battle and nodded quietly to himself before taking off after AndrAIa. 

******* 

"Sir, I believe we have been hit." 

"Are you sure Binky?" He set down his cocoa and looked back at what was once the back of their vehicle. It was now nothing more that a mass of flames. 

"Quite sure, sir." Binky nodded. 

"Alright then. Parachutes everyone! And don't forget the spare mugs!" 

"Jolly good sir." Binky took to air with the spare mugs of cocoa and saluted the ship as it spiraled down to the bottom of the sector, his parachute floating him to safety. 

********* 

"There goes CPU 392…Binky's ship I think." Enzo pointed the spiraling mass of flames out on the view screen to Phong. Phong sighed and turned to another vid window. 

"Anything yet, my child?" 

"No Phong, not yet." Mouse looked over the civilian bunker from the view screen, then checked a few scans in her cockpit. "Still waiting. Its been nearly two full cycles…the User just has to come through for us soon." 

"Let us hope so, my child." Phong nodded to her and then turned back to the vid screens showing the battles in the sector. "Let us hope…" 

******* 

"Ray, how's that readout?" Mouse called over her shoulder as she shut off the vid window. 

"Still the same, luv. No activity…anywhere." He stood up from the panel and gave her a shrug. 

"Well FAQ….better be gett'n somth'n soon." She looked at another vid screen and looked at Ray. "There they go." She turned back and watched the three head toward the top of the building as Ray leaned over her shoulder. 

"What happens if the User doesn't come through for us luv?" 

'Then we're in trouble Sugah. Big trouble." She watched the screen intently and only felt a small tinge of relief from her fizzled nerves as Ray's hand squeezed her own. 

******** 

"Enjoying the show Miss Matrix?" Megabyte smiled down at her, then growled slightly as he got no response. She was back to giving him that blank stare again. He sighed and turned his attention back to the fight as a CPU began to spiral down the bottom of the sector, a few bynomes parachuting to safety. He hated parachutes. 

"Sir! We have incoming!" The Corporal ran up to Megabyte, pointing to the sky behind him. 

"What?" Megabyte followed the skyline until he spotted them. A large a dark sneering grin formed on his lips. "Well Well Dot, looks like the Guardian is coming to save the day." He laughed arrogantly. "And he brought the basic and the fish as well. How delightful!" His eyes followed them as the landed a few feet away. He turned to Dot and laughed. 

"Do stand to meet your friends, Miss Matrix." He lifted his hand and the hover clamp around her wrists rose into the air, dragging the rest of her with it. She was back to shallow breaths again as her arms were held in position above her. 

"Dot!" Bob called out as he stepped off the zip-board. "Are you ok?" 

"Of course she is! I'm not a monster, after all." Megabyte laughed again. "Dot, do look up and give them a smile, hmmm?" 

Dot slowly lifted her eyes, the agonizing pain in her chest making it harder to breath with each passing nano. Her eyes were sullen, dark, and red…as if she hadn't had down time in seconds. Her lips cracked and bleed again as she opened them to talk, causing her to wince slightly. Her violet eyes, now dimmed with the pain in her body, focused on the three, a small tinge of data making their way to the surface. She had been so strong for so long. She sucked it back, refusing to fall apart now. Then her eyes met his, and all bets were off. She forced her mouth open again, drawing in a stabbing breath through her chest like needles. 

"Bob…" The sound that came out of her throat was little more than a raspy whisper, but that sound carried with it all that she had suffered at the hands of the vile creature beside her. Unable to lift her head anymore under the strain from her chest, she let it drop, data falling down her cheeks at having to take herself away from his comforting brown eyes. 

"Dot…" He whispered again as he watched her head fall. 

"You Bastard!" Matrix lunged at Megabyte. 

"Matrix no!" AndrAIa called out after him. 

"Better listen to the fish, boy!" The virus clutched Dots throat with his claws, making Matrix halt in his steps. "I call the shots here, boy! Unless you want to see what your sister looks like on the inside." He smiled menacingly as Matrix slowly took a few grumbling steps backward. 

"Ok Megabyte, then what's the deal?" Bob clenched his fists, understanding Matrix's need for action now. 

"Deal? Who said anything about a deal? I don't want a deal, Guardian. I want you, and the rest, deleted, that is all." He pointed up as two more CPUs fell from the sky. "And as you can see…I am getting what I want." 

"Heir Meg-n-byte-n! Time for your next injection!" The Doctor came running up from the landed ABC, stopping suddenly after a sneer from Megabyte. He looked around at everyone. "Oh. Maybe I am coming back at different time, yes?" 

"Injections?" Bob questioned. 

"None of your concern Guardian. Heir doctor, I will take it later!" 

"It had better being quick-n, yah? The last one will be wearing off zoon I think…" 

"You talk to much Doctor." Megabyte sneered at the bynome as it crouched back behind the ABC. 

"What injections?" Bob questioned again, taking a step forward. 

"Stay right where you are Guardian!" He flew another claw toward Dot's throat. 

"Defensive, aren't we, Virus?" Matrix growled, stepping up beside Bob. 

"Ya, a little too defensive if you ask me." AndrAIa joined the two, her trident already in hand. 

"Its…A.v.A. He…is…weak!" Dot got out before Megabyte sliced a scratch across her cheek in anger. Dot gasped in pain as the blood oozed from the wound. 

"Dot!" Bob yelled then turned a sneer toward Megabyte. "Glitch, energy beam!" Glitch replied happily and fired a full spectrum pulse at Megabyte's chest, knocking him a few feet away from the edge of the building. 

** 

"That really hurt him!" AndrAIa called out as Bob began walking to where Megabyte kneeled, clasping his chest. 

"Gun, command line. Aim" Gun shot up from its position on Matrix's hip and into his waiting hand. 

"Whoa, hold it Sparky." AndrAIa put a hand on his shoulder and whispered to him. "Remember…we just need to stall him, not delete him. You go take care of the ABCs and ill go take care of Dot." She started running over to where Dot was hanging in mid air, almost unconscious. 

"What AB…." he cut off his words and smiled as 3 ABCs pulled up behind him. "Fun time. Gun, new target acquisition!" 

"Dot…are you still with us?" AndrAIa lifted Dot's chin and was relieved to get a small smile from her, although her eyes were full of tears. AndrAIa took out a starfish and hit the clamp around Dot's wrists several times until it finally gave way. AndrAIa stumbled a bit as she caught Dot's almost dead weight and lowered her to the ground. She tore a piece of cloth from her pants and held it against Dot's cheek. 

"Its going to be ok Dot. Your plan is working." Dot just closed her eyes and started to cry, whispering the words _Bob_ and _sorry_. AndrAIa looked up to see Matrix getting rid of the unwelcome company, then looked back to Dot and frowned at her condition. 

"Oh Dot…What did that monster do to you?" She held her softly and began to clean the wound. 

** 

"Stand up!" Bob yelled down at the kneeling Megabyte. 

"Or what Guardian? You wont do anything. Mend, not deletion wasn't it?" He looked up at Bob and laughed in-between winces of agony. 

"You….you don't have it...in you Bob. I do…that is why…" He growled in pain from A.v.A. and realized his mistake in not taking the last shot. He sneered and stood up, refusing to appear weak, no mater the discomfort . "I will always win." 

"Keep telling yourself that Megabyte." Bob aimed Glitch at him again, ready to restrain and hold him. 

"I won when I shot you into the web. I won when I went into the web and came back stronger." He paused and gasped, clutching his stomach. Then he turned the pain into a sinister laugh. "And I won Dot…didn't I ! She really is a wonderful kisser, not to mention a wonder…" 

"Bastard!" Bob lowered Glitch and headed strait for the virus, a yell of hate and anger filling the air. He hit Megabyte at full speed, taking him down to the ground. Megabyte fought back with his claws drawn and a deep growl from his throat. The struggle was on. Though a new, unplanned struggle came into the plan. Bob was now struggling with his ethics and his emotions. His ethics told him 'mend, not deletion. don't become the thing you hate.' But his emotions wanted nothing more than to take Glitch's cutter and separate that monster's head from its body and set both pieces flying over the edge of the building. 

"Is that all you've got, Guardian?" The virus grinned up at his attacker. 

"Hardly." Bob drew back and hit Megabyte in the chest where Glitch had injured him earlier. The virus writhed in pain. Bob drew back and hit him again, and again. 

"Are you enjoying…" Megabyte lost his breath as Bob hit him again. "becoming what you hate!" The virus sneered up at him and laughed. 

"I will never become you!" Bob hit him again, and dodged Megabyte's claws as they headed for his face. Bob hit again, this time the virus yelling in pain and clawing at the roof top. He leaned down and looked at Megabyte in the eyes, his usually calm and pleasant voice now dark and course. He had been pushed to the limits of his optimistic nature. "I will never become like you for one good reason…I am loved." He nodded and leaned in closer as the words caused Megabyte to take pause. "You may have fooled my friends…and you may have fooled Dot, but end the end…it wasn't you they loved…or she loved…It was me. You were me, remember." Bob hit him again when he started to squirm. "Dot…loves…me." 

"No!" Megabyte drew his leg up under Bob and kicked him backwards, his eyes glowing the dark viral green and searing with corrosive scorn. "Believe…." he took pauses as he got to his feet again. "Believe what makes you feel better, Guardian." 

"I don't have to, Megabyte. I know its true…here." He pointed to his heart and looked strait into those viral green eyes. He raised Glitch again, this time pushing all emotions aside. "Glitch, restraint!" Glitch sent out several beams of light that raced toward Megabyte. 

"Gah!" Megabyte fled to the left, heading for the edge of the building. He knew he was in no condition to fight. He wasn't in any condition to run, either. A.v.A. caused him to loose his leg stability and he fell to his knees as the energy beams encompassed him. "No! I will not loose!" 

"To late virus!" Matrix said over a smile. "You lost before you even began." He took Gun and targeted Megabyte's forehead. "If you move, I will delete you." 

"AndrAIa…" Bob took his eyes off of Megabyte and walked over to where AndrAIa kneeled, holding a very shaken and weak Dot. "How is she?" He slowly knelt beside her, the hatred rising in his file system again as he looked at her battered and torn body. 

"Barely conscious, Bob, but she will be ok." AndrAIa carefully handed her over to Bob's waiting arms. 

"Dot?" He lifted the temporary bandaged and grimaced slightly at the deep laceration on her cheek. He replaced the cloth and ran his hand through her hair. "Dot? Can you hear me?" He smiled as she slowly opened her eyes. 

"Hey there…" He choked back a lump in his throat and raised a finger to her lips when she tried to talk. "Shhh. Its all over now. We have him, just like you planned." He frowned as she closed her eyes again, sending a few drops of data trailing down her wounded cheek. He drew her in close and held her, just like had wanted to do so badly for the past three cycles. 

"Bob…" AndrAIa hated to interject into such a personal and emotional moment. "Bob we have to get her out of here. She is in no condition to be here when it lands." 

"Lands? When what lands?" Megabyte raised an eyebrow, starting to struggle slightly against the restraints. 

"Wouldn't you like to know." Matrix laughed. He glanced over his shoulder for an instance to look at Dot and Bob. "She's right Bob. We need to get her out of here." 

"Why? What's coming?" Megabyte began to squirm even more. 

"I know. I'll have Ray come and get her." He said reluctantly, not wanting to let go of her. He leaned her back in his arms slowly and kissed her forehead softly. 

"I demand to know!" Megabyte fought back A.v.A. 's presence in his files again and began to regain his strength, yanking at the restraints. "What are you waiting for? Delete me or put me in a cell! Why are you…." Then he stopped. "Your stalling. You have been stalling since the beginning. The entire battle was a stall. But why?" 

"Would you shut up!" Matrix barked, sick of Megabyte's voice. 

"Never!" Megabyte growled and broke the restraints, the beams of light shattering in the air. 

"He's free!" AndrAIa ran toward him, bringing her trident to its full height. 

"Ray!" Bob called into the headset as he watched Matrix and AndrAIa go after a now free Megabyte. "I need you to pick up Dot before the ga…" His words were cut off suddenly and a look of relief…then fear swept over his face as the sky turned that unmistakable purple. 

"WARNING: INCOMING GAME WARNING: INCOMING GAME" 


	7. The Game Part 1

**Part 7: The Game Part 1**

"Ray!" Bob's voice called out on the radio of Mouse's ship. 

"Ya mate?" Ray replied, reaching over Mouse's shoulder. 

"I need you to come pick up Dot before the ga.." Bob's words cut off suddenly. 

"Bob? Mate, you there?" Ray stopped calling onto the mike as Mouse pointed at the vid window over looking the sector. The sky changed hues and darkened into a deep royal purple. "Here we go…" Ray kissed Mouse on the cheek quickly and then hopped onto Baud. 

"Careful Sugah!" Mouse called over her shoulder as she opened the back hatch. 

"I'll be fine, luv. Just get that game where it needs to be." He gave her a smile and a wave. "See you back at the bunker." and took off out of the hatch. 

"You bet Honey." She closed the hatch and then put the ship into gear, speeding off toward the entrance point of the game. 

******** 

"Ray, I need you here now!" Bob called out as got his thoughts together again. 

"He's already on his way Bob, just hold on!" Mouse called out over the radio. 

"The game is only half a sector over." Bob continued. 

"Already on my way to go fetch it Sugah." Mouse's ship flew overhead of the Circon Industries building and headed into the dark horizon, the cube just beginning to lower. 

"Bob!" AndrAIa called to him as Matrix took run at Megabyte. "We need those restraints!" 

"What does a game…" Megabyte took a swing at the charging Matrix, sending the him into the ground. "Have to do with me?" Megabyte looked to Bob, his curiosity keeping him for taking a flying leap over the building. 

"Just something we learned when you were gone." AndrAIa answered as she threw her trident at the virus. Megabyte knocked the trident to the side and turned his attention back to Bob. Matrix reached up and grabbed the trident in mid-air, then tossed it back at Megabyte. Not used to aiming it, he aimed for the virus's left leg, but hit is right foot instead. 

"Stop moving!" Matrix growled as he missed the shot. Megabyte howled in pain as he tore the trident out of his foot. "Ahhww…did that hurt? Good." Matrix mocked him 

and took another charge. 

"Dot, I have to go. I'll be right back." He set her down gently and looked up to the sky for Ray, then sighed and looked as Matrix hit the injured Megabyte. 

"Matrix!" AndrAIa called out as he flew past her, a new rip in the chest of his shirt. 

"You are beginning to annoy me, boy!" 

"Just beginning?" Matrix stood up and looked at his ripped shirt as AndrAIa rushed over. He was scratched, but not injured. "How insulting." He laughed and aimed Gun at Megabyte again, this time intent on firing. 

"Glitch, restraints!" Bob sent the restraints at a stumbling Megabyte just as Matrix fired. By luck alone, Megabyte dodged both and landed with a heavy thud against the roof top. 

"You called?" Ray surfed in as Megabyte struggled to recover. 

"Ray, get Dot out of here!" Bob yelled and pointed back at Dot who was laying alone near the parked ABC. 

"On my way!" Ray banked Baud off of an invisible wave and headed for Dot. 

**** 

"Alright Honey, follow the energy pulse like a good game cube." Mouse switched on the transmitter and hovered under the game cube for a few nanos before jetting off toward Circon Industries. 

"C'mon…." She watched in the rear-view vid as the game continued on its current course. "Ok….lets see if you like this flavor better." She changed the frequency and watched the vid screen again. 

"Just like zip-flies to a daisy wheel!" She grinned as the cube suddenly arced upwards and shifted in position. 

"Here I come boys!" Her voice rang out over the radio on Ray's belt and Bob's headset. She took a low pass toward the building and opened the hatch doors. 

****** 

"What is the point in this?" Megabyte rose to his feet, one of them limped by the injury. 

"When that game lands, it will be game over for you, virus." Matrix smirked and aimed Gun back up. 

"Impossible. Games do not effe…" All words were lost as a few of his files were ripped apart by A.v.A. and then reorganized with new code. He fell to his knees, his eyes and mouth wide open in an agony that was to much to even scream. 

"No, they don't." Bob paused and looked back as Ray hopped off of Baud beside Dot to pick her up. "Unless…" He turned his eyes back to the virus. "the virus has already been weakened or infected by an anti viral program to the extent that the game system will finish recoding the viral's files, curing said virus." 

"No! That is impossible. It will never work." Megabyte began to take slow steps back toward the edge of the building, he eyes locked on the barrel of Matrix's Gun. 

"Wrong again." AndrAIa walked up behind him, blocking his exit. "Just ask your sister." 

"A game cured Hexadecimal?" He turned around to face AndrAIa, then looked for a way to get around her. "Impossible!" 

"There's that word again!" Matrix laughed. He glanced up as Mouse flew her ship low across the skyline. "Here she comes Bob, and so does the game." 

"Special delivery!" Mouse cranked up the frequency sound and then pushed the beacon out of the ship, its parachute carrying it to the roof top with a light thud. She smiled down to everyone and then waved Ray to bring Dot onto the ship. Her wave and smiles ended as a huge jolt shook her ship and tilted it upwards. She grasped for something to hold onto, but found only a loose cargo net. She slid down the inside of the ship with the net, scraping at the slick floor with her feet. The net caught, but it caught to late. 

"FAQ!" She looked up at her hand as it grasped the net. Then she looked down below her feet. She was dangling high above the rooftop from the open hatch of her ship. 

"Mouse!" Ray called out as he watched her fall from the hatch of the ship that was now caught in the tractor beam of an ABC convoy. His breath stopped as she flew a good eight feet out of the hatch before the net caught and left her dangling. He made sure Dot was secure on Baud before racing up to catch Mouse. But it was too late. He looked her in the eyes as the cargo net ripped from her hand, her mouth opening into a scream. 

"Oh User…no.." Dot held onto Baud, her eyes opening just in time see Mouse scream. 

"Mouse!" Ray screamed her name this time as he sped to her. He reached out to her, time slowing as their eyes locked. So close, and yet so far. Their fingers brushed each other and time sped up again as she continued to fall past the roof line of the building, her destination the bottom level of KIT sector. 

Ray's scream was added to by Dot, and then Bob. Then came the laugh from the virus. Matrix growled, took aim, and fired to silence that laugh. The bullet soared toward its target. 

"What?!" Bob turned to see the bullet race to its target, only to have it disappear from view as the game cube landed with an echoing of Ray's scream across the sector. 

******** 

Bob hazed back into focus as the game cube settled down into its final position. The bullet from Gun had dissipated within the boot system energies of the game, much to Bob's relief…and slight disappointment. He glanced over at Matrix who still had Gun raised in targeting mode, and at AndrAIa who stood beside him. Megabyte, however, was no where to be seen. 

"He must of jumped the building right as it landed." AndrAIa chimed in, looking at the new surroundings. They were standing in the middle of an open field, surrounded by what looked like a dense forest. A small road could be seen in the distance. Even further back was a blurb that may have been a building. 

"Then he is in another level of the game." Matrix redocked Gun on his hip and looked back at Bob. "And Mouse? Do you think she is in the game too?" 

"I…I don't know." Bob shook his head sullenly. "There's no telling where she…landed…or if…she.." 

"Lets not even consider it Bob." AndrAIa tried her hand at a little optimism. "I'm sure she is ok, just stuck in a different level." AndrAIa added in the encouragement as Ray neared them, Dot still clutched to Baud. 

"Dot, your conscious!" Bob walked over as Ray landed and helped her off of Baud. 

"Yes. the Baud…helped…somehow." She just shook her head, the expression on her face one of fatigue and one of terror at having just seen her best friend fall to an uncertain fate. Without the game cube, deletion would have been the only possible outcome. The game cube, however, offered a small amount of hope. "Oh Bob, she has to be ok." Dot began to cry again and Bob took her into his arms. 

"Ray…" AndrAIa took a few steps toward the surfer, who stood with his arms crossed, looking out to the horizon of the game. "There is still a chance." She bit her lip and frowned lightly as Ray gave only a small nod. 

"Bob, we need to get going if we are going to beat the User. It wont mater if A.v.A. weakened Megabyte enough or not if we lose this game." 

"Where is Megabyte?" Dot leaned away from Bob, regaining her composure. 

"We don't know. Another level most likely. I'll see if Glitch can get a fix on him. Glitch, game stats and User/sprite location." He watch as Glitch displayed the information, glancing up once to look at Ray, and then back down at Glitch again. 

"Ok. The game is called Key Masters." Bob glanced up at Matrix who just shrugged. 

"We've never played it." Matrix looked at AndrAIa who just shook her head. 

"Ok then…" Bob continued "Basically you have to beat the User to the final level. That's level 18, and we are on level 12 now." 

"That sounds easy." Matrix smirked. 

"You have to find hidden keys on each level to get to the next, and the keys are guarded by the Key Masters." Bob continued. 

"So much for easy." AndrAIa pinched Matrix's arm. 

"On the final level you will have to get the Key of Eternity from the Key Lord to win the game." Bob looked up and shrugged. 

"Ok then, lets do it." Matrix nodded to the group and then hit his icon. "ReBoot!" He looked down, expecting something retarded like the last few games had been. He grinned. "Wicked!" He was decked out in black leather from his boots to his collar. He even had the full length leather coat. He looked under he jacket weapons and found only Gun. "Well no weapons…that's odd. How are we supposed to get the keys from the Key Masters then?" 

"I don't know." Bob just shrugged. "Guess you'll have to figure that out when you get there." 

"ReBoot!" AndrAIa called out and the green light enveloped her. She returned to form in a extremely tight fitting and short black leather dress with a coat like Matrix. She also had a black cowboy hat to match. "What is with these games lately?" she rolled her eyes as she looked down at her appearance. 

"I don't see a thing wrong." Matrix grinned. 

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to fight in this thing!" She crossed her arms and wondered why lately all the games have put her in outfits that were growing ever tighter and shorter. "And I don't have any weapons either." 

"Ok, the User is on level 7 but moving up fast." Bob continued. 

"And Megabyte?" Dot questioned. 

"He's on level 10, and he's on the move." 

"Move to what?" Matrix raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm not sure. he seems to be stopping near a few ABCs in the game every once in a while, then just moves on again. We've also got at least seven CPUs showing up." 

"That doesn't make any sense. He cant escape the game, so what's the point in.." 

"Oh no!." Dot cut AndrAIa off. "He's looking for the ABC that was on the roof with us!" 

"Why?" 

"Because that's where the last of his injections are!" Dot looked around at the puzzled faces. "Those injections were curing him of A.v.A.!" 

"And if he gets those injections, the game may not work on him!" Bob finished as he clued in. "This is not good. We need to stop him from getting to those injections." 

"We also have to win the game!" Matrix chimed in. 

"And go after Mouse." Bob finally added the piece of information he had discovered while looking up the PID locations. 

"What?" Ray finally turned around and took interest in the conversation. 

"She's on level…" He paused for a minute, thinking about how far she had fallen before the game caught up with her. "four." He finished with a less than optimistic tone. 

"Four!" Dot gasped as her eyes widened. 

"That doesn't mean anything, Dot. We just wont know until we find her." Bob knew, however, that falling that far and then landing into a game was a bad thing. 

"So looks like we are splitting up." Matrix looked around the group. 

"Yes. You two go win the game. You'll have to hurry. The User is now on level 8." Bob pointed to Matrix and AndrAIa. 

"Alright." Matrix nodded with a smile. "Lets go." He and AndrAIa took off in a run for the dirt road. 

"I'm going to go after Megabyte. Dot, you should.." 

"I'm going with you Bob." She made herself look as able as she could. 

"Oh no your not. Your only running at 40, maybe 50, percent. You need to stay here.." He got cut off again. 

"I'm going with you!" She became stern in her refusal to sit back and let everyone else finish her plan for her. 

"Alright." Bob gave a small smile at her resolve. "I wouldn't mind the company." He smiled wider as she returned the smile. 

"Ray, I need you to go.." Bob looked up and saw no Ray. "Ray?" He looked around the horizon. 

"I think he left as soon as you said what level Mouse was on." She looked around and through the dense trees. "That ABC with the injections should be on the same level as us. Lets go" She began to trudge off toward the tree line. 

"Yes Ma'am." Bob shook his head in a smile. He was so happy to see her again after all the had happened. He wished he had time before the game to talk to her. He sighed and ran to catch up. That talk would have to wait. 

******** 

"Do you think it would be that obvious?" AndrAIa stood beside Matrix and looked at the run down barn. 

"Well I don't see any other buildings around. Besides, one of the first things Bob taught me is that in most games, the most obvious it usually right. For some reason, Users don't seem to think that way." Matrix shrugged and pushed open the huge double doors. One of them fell off its hinges and hit the ground with a loud thud, sending dirt and hay flying into the air. "Oops." 

"Good going…" AndrAIa paused to sneeze..."Sparky." 

"C'mon.." Matrix sneezed loudly as he stepped into the dim and dusty barn. Inside of the barn stood a single cow. 

"That's interesting." AndrAIa raised an eyebrow. 

"Well, no Key Master here." Matrix turned to walk out. 

"Matrix, wait. That cow is staring at you. You don't think…" 

"What? Your kidding me!" Matrix rolled his eyes. _So much for this game turning out to_ _be cool_, he thought. He sighed and walked over to the cow. "Uhm….Hi…?" Matrix rolled his eyes and looked to AndrAIa as the cow moo'ed at him. 

"Go on!" AndrAIa covered a giggle. 

"Are you the Key Master?" Matrix felt so stupid talking to a cow, in the middle of a dirty barn, in the middle of a seriously messed up game. 

"I don't know, Boy, am I?" The cow replied. 

"Uh." Matrix blinked. "Yes." 

"So, you have made it this far. Past fires, past deserts, past waters, and now to a barn. You have been worthy up until this point. Are you worthy to proceed to level thirteen?" The cow moo'ed again. 

"Uhm," Matrix looked at AndrAIa then back to the cow. "Yes." 

"What we do in the past does not matter. All that matters is what we finally become in the future. That finality what defines who we are." The cow moo'ed and quirked an eyebrow. "So Boy, what am I?" 

"Well, your…a cow." Matrix raised an eyebrow. 

"Wrong! You are not worthy to pass." 

"What?" Matrix took a step back, ready just to shoot the cow and take the key. 

"Unless she can answer correctly." The cow looked at AndrAIa and moo'ed with a smile. "So now, girl, the question comes to you. Be wise and listen to my words before answering, unlike your boy here." The cow moo'ed. "What we do in the past does not matter. All that matters is what we finally become in the future. That finality is what defines who we are." The cow paused and watched AndrAIa think. "So girl, what am I?" 

"What you are now, a cow, doesn't matter…" AndrAIa bit her bottom lip and the cow moo'ed. "What you are in the end…." She smiled and snapped her fingers. "That's it!" 

"What?" Matrix raised an eyebrow. 

"You…" AndrAIa grinned at the cow. "You are a cheeseburger!" 

"Clever girl." The cow nodded and then kicked the wall behind him. The wall fell down to reveal a lighted passage. A key appeared hanging on the doorway. "Take the key and go from this level. You are no longer low enough to stay here." 

"Thanks!" AndrAIa grinned as she ran to get the key. 

"Moo." was all the cow said as it watched them disappear into the passage, the wall of the barn reforming behind them. 

*********** 

He trekked on through the barren waste land, the heat of that bright and ever present sun beating down on his back. Pausing every few steps to regain himself, he knew that it would not be long before he would be to weak to continue. He refused to give up. He was a virus. He enjoyed being a virus. He wasn't going to let some prototype program turn him into one of those sprites he loathed so much. He wanted the dominance, the power, the destruction, the order. He would not let them take his nature away from him. He would survive, find those injections, get out of this blasted game, and then he would make them pay. He stopped again and laughed at the thoughts of what he would do to them when he finished hunting them down. Then he fell to his knees as another wave of agony tore through his systems. He regained himself and carried on, through the sands and the wind to find the small vile of serum…his savior. 

*********** 

"You do not belong here!" The beady eyes in the darkness watched the strange one from a distance. 

"I need to get down to the next level." Ray was in no mood for bartering with what ever it was that watched him from the shadows. 

"Down? There is only up! No one ever wants to go down. Besides ,belong here you do not! You are not part of this game!" The game sprite blinked its beady eyes, a sound of confusion in its voice. 

"I know. I'm a search engine. Look, friend, I need to get down to the next level." 

"Search…engine….Why down must you go?" 

"Some one is hurt on a lower level, a sprite. She may be very badly injured. Please let me pass." 

"Oh, a sprite has fallen. Badly hurt is she. What will I do. Let you go down? No one ever goes down. What care you for this fallen sprite, search engine?" 

"I care for her a great deal." Ray stared at game sprite's beady eyes in the darkness, pleading with any type of emotional file it might have. "Please, I beg of you, let me pass." 

"Beg you do? Your eyes speak more truth than do your pleas, yessss?" The beady eyes closed and disappeared into the darkness for a moment, then reappeared as the game sprite who owned them stepped out into the light. The rabbit hopped forward and raised an eyebrow. "What level does she you seek lay fallen on?" 

"She is on level four." Ray said sullenly. 

"A long way down, that is." The rabbit twitched its nose. "Let you pass I will. Seek out the other Key Masters you must, for only they can let you up…or in this case down through the levels. A long journey you do have. But on that board will be easier I think." 

"Thank you." Ray said with a sigh of relief. "Will the other Key Masters let me go down?" 

"Hhhmmmm." The rabbit twitched its nose again. "Tell them that I, the rabbit Nims, have given you permission to pass down. Let you pass they will." The rabbit twitched its nose and hit its foot against the ground. The ground shook and a set of steps leading down appeared. "Go you must, and hurry." 

"Thank you, Nims." 

"Welcome, you are search engine." The rabbit watched as the strange man with a strange board that could fly headed down into the steps. It twitched its nose as the stairs disappeared. "Down, not up. Now everything I have seen." It hopped back into the shadows of a nearby tree and closed its eyes. 

******** 

"Well Matrix and AndrAIa just moved up to level 14." Bob stopped walking and checked the game stats on Glitch. 

"And Ray?" Dot did her best to hide her shortness of breath. They had looked all over this level, or so it seemed. The game area seemed to go on forever. Hopefully that would slow down the User. Unfortunately, it was also slowing them down. 

"He's on level 9…wait, level 8 now. He's moving fast." 

"Must be nice to have Baud to fly around on!" Dot smirked as she closed her eyes. She was finding it harder to catch her breath. 

"You alright Dot?" 

"Yes, I'm fine." Dot stood up strait. "Where is the User?". 

"On this level actually." Bob looked at Dot with a raised eyebrow as she rubbed her temples. "Are you sure your ok?" 

"Yes, I'm fine. Lets go find that ABC." Dot forced her legs to move forward. 

"Megabyte is still on level 10. I guess not being used to games is slowing him down. We can take a break if you need to." 

"I'm fine." She said again and kept walking. 

"Fine." Bob rolled his eyes and frowned as he started to walk a few paces behind. He watched her back as she moved through the dense bush, trying to find her way back to the road. She had been pushing to find this ABC and seemed in no mind to stop for even a nano. _She can be so stubborn_ he thought. He was just about ready to tell her to take a break when her body made that decision for her. He watched as she stumbled over a few tree roots, her foot getting caught between them. She balanced on one foot momentarily until her fatigue caused her balance to shift backwards. Luckily he was behind her to break her fall. 

"Now will you agree to take a break?" he smiled down at her after landing on the ground. 

"I don't want to stop moving." She wouldn't look at him and started to get up. 

"Why?" He frowned again. This happened the last time, this drift. He let it go last time and he almost lost her. This time he wasn't going to let it go. He had made a promise to himself that morning, never to let her go again. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her back down into his lap. 

"Bob!" 

"Sit, rest, and talk." He looked into her eyes, giving her the same command sternness she usually gave him. 

"I cant Bob." She turned her eyes away from him again. 

"Why?" 

"Because.." she took in a deep breath. "when I stop, I start to think…about everything that's happened." She shook her head lightly. "I just don't think this is the time or the place to deal with it." 

"Well it needs to be dealt with, and now is as good a time as any." He frowned again when she still refused to look at him. "Dot, please, just talk to me. What is it? Is it me? Did I do something?" 

"Bob, no!" Dot finally turned her eyes to him. "No Bob, you never did anything wrong." She bit her lower lip and lowered her head again. "And that's the problem. I'm the one who did everything wrong." 

"That's not true." 

"Yes it is. I gave up on you, not once…but twice! I pushed you away when you needed me, and then…then I…" She stopped and shuddered, unable to bring the words past her lips. 

"Then you almost married me." 

"No…I almost married Megabyte…" She cringed again. 

"No you didn't Dot." He brushed her check with his hand, wiping away a small drop of data. "That's something I came to realize. You thought it was me. Nulls Dot!, everyone thought It was me. Even I did in the end." 

"But it still wasn't you." 

"If you had known it was Megabyte, would you have gone through with it?" 

"Of course not!" That thought utterly disgusted her. "I thought I was marring…you." Bob's point finally clicked in her head. "It doesn't matter, I still chose the wrong one, Megabyte or not." 

"Dot, I understand why. Your message explained it." He wished she would look at him. 

"I still hurt you." Dot started to choke back on the tears. 

"Yes, it did hurt." Bob sighed. "But it wasn't all your fault. I let you go." 

"That's not true, I pushed you away." 

"And that's partly my fault too." 

"How?" Dot sniffled slightly and wiped her eyes with her hands. 

"Because I made the mistake…" He took her hands in his and wrapped his arms around her. "of never telling you…" He leaned his chin down on her shoulder and whispered softly into her ear. "how much I love you…" He closed his eyes and held her tightly. "until it was too late." 

"Oh Bob…" She whispered and finally relaxed in his arms, a small smile beginning to replace the sadness that had been present on her face since this whole mad season had started. 

"And of course I forgive you," He whispered, leaning his cheek against hers. "but only if you forgive me too." 

"Of course!" Dot finally looked at him, turning her body to face him. She lost herself in those brown eyes and that smile. It was so nice to see that smile again. She ran a hand along his cheek and through his hair. "I am so sor.." 

"Shhh.' He placed a finger on across her lips and smiled. "Its all in the past. How about we forget it and focus on now." He smiled as she hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her again, never wanting to let her go. 

"Bob…" Dot rose back from the hug and leaned near to his face, looking into the depth of his safe and comforting eyes. "I love you." 

The words whispered so sweetly in the air, hanging in the ears of Bob. For the first time, those words weren't said with tears behind them, but with a smile. He smiled in his euphoria, pulling her in close. It had all been said. The past had been filed and zipped away into the far recesses of his memory banks. All he wanted to process was that moment, the present, with her. The air had been cleared. They were both finally able to breath. He ran a hand through her hair and down across her cheek as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As their lips met, they could think of only one thing. Each other. 

******** 

"No, you may not pass. You do not belong here. Through my gate you shall not cross. Go back the way you game and never return to my house." 

"I must get through." 

"No, you may not pass." 

"Take me to the next level!" 

"No." 

"Take me to the next level or I will delete you!" Megabyte growled down at the game sprite, his golden claws ready to tear through its code. 

"I am a game sprite, your threats stir no fear in me." The duck lifted its beak to snub the stranger before it. 

"Let me pass or I will infect you and every other thing in this game, causing it to degrade and crash within a few replays." Megabyte snarled at the snubbing duck. 

"A virus!" The duck's bill opened wide. It took to the air to fly off, quacking in fear. It quickly fell back to the ground as Megabyte took a hold of its foot. 

"I guess for you I must make an exception…just don't infect us!" The duck pleaded with the creature before it. It quacked again as the virus released its foot. It waddled over to the edge of the lake that sat in the middle of the desert. Out of a strange and sudden fog appeared a boat. "There. Now leave this place, and leave this game!" 

"Gladly." Megabyte grumbled. He got into the boat and it began to move into the fog. Once in the fog, the appearance of strength that he had shown the game sprite disappeared. He cringed in pain and doubled over in the boat. A.v.A. and his own viral files were at a draw in the war inside of him. The anti viral program wasn't winning, but it was weakening him a great deal. He still couldn't believe that this game could cure him, but he wasn't about to take that chance. He needed those injections. 

******** 

Bob slowly awoke after a few beeps from Glitch. He blinked his eyes and looked up at the light through the canopy of trees. His back ached slightly from the rough bark of the tree, but he felt well rested. A movement against his chest caused him to look down from the trees. He smiled gingerly at Dot as she moved slightly, mumbling in her sleep. She had needed the rest so badly. Bob hadn't meant to fall asleep too, but the calmness of the light and airy forest had over come him. He looked down at Glitch and frowned lightly at the readout displayed. 

"Thanks Glitch." He whispered. Glitch had awakened him for a good reason. Megabyte was now one level below them. They needed to find that ABC, and soon. Once Megabyte hit this level, he would have no trouble finding it due to the viral connection. Bob hoped that the connection would be jumbled due to his weakened state, but he couldn't count on it. He sighed and looks back down at Dot, not wanting to wake her up. All he wanted to do was to stay in that forest and leave the rest of it behind. But reality called and there were things that had to be done. 

"Dot?" Bob spoke in a soft whisper and ran a hand through her hair. 

"Mmmhmmph" Dot began to slowly stir again. 

"Dot…" He laughed softly as she shook her head. 

"I don't want to go to school…" She mumbled quietly, causing Bob to laugh even more. The movement from his chest as he laughed caused her to slowly open her eyes. "What…" 

"Sorry Dot, but we have to get moving again." Bob smiled down at her as she looked up. 

"The ABC…I had almost forgotten." She returned the smile and lingered there, in his arms, for a few moments longer. 

"We can always continue this later." He smiled at her, happy to see her reluctance to get back on the move for once. "Promise." 

"Alright Bob." She kissed him again, slow o pull back from its sweetness. She smiled and nodded. She felt so happy and at peace. She stood up and looked at the lighted canopy. Things were looking bright again. She looked at Bob as he stood. Things felt right again. She said a silent prayer that they would remain that way this time. 

"Lets go then." She smiled and started walking back towards the road. He caught up with her and smiled, taking her hand in his. This time, they would walk down that road together. 

****** 


	8. The Game Part 2

**Chapter 8: The Game : part 2 **

******  
  
"I do say sir, I think we are lost."  
  
"Non-sense Binky!" He looked down at his empty mug and then up at the game layout. The sea around their tiny boat seemed to go on forever. He had no idea the real point in this game. He didn't even know what level they were on. They were lost.  
  
"Well I'm sure Bob or that Matrix boy will have everything under control."   
  
"Of course Binky. Well lets carry on shall we?" He looked over the horizon and picked a direction. "That way!"  
  
"Very good sir." Binky rolled his eyes slightly and began rowing.  


********* 

"Let me get this strait, Mr. Flashy 'search engine'…" The boisterous hen put her wing on her hip and look up at Ray with a tilted head. "you want to go down…not up?" 

"Please, Madam, I must get down to level 4." Ray looked down at the hen who barely came up to his knee. 

"And you say Nims from level eleven let you down?" The hen clucked and raised a white feathered eyebrow. 

"That's right, the rabbit Nims. She said you would let me pass." 

"And the other Key Masters have let you pass so far. Even Niles?" 

"Niles?" Ray raised an eyebrow. 

"Niles the duck. You must have passed him. Though I am surprised he would of let you by, even with Nims's blessing. He's a very stubborn game sprite." The hen clucked in a haughty laugh. 

"Oh yes, he did. Look, I'd love to chat all day, but I really must get down!" Ray was getting impatient. This hen had insisted on asking every question twice and seemed content on talking to him until the game ended. 

"Well…" The hen clucked. "alright, I'll let you pass." She clucked again and winked. "But only because your such a cute boy!" She walked over to a basket of eggs and picked one up. She seemed to examine it for a moment, then clucked her approval. The hen took aim and threw the egg against a nearby fence. 

"Thanks." Ray raised an eyebrow waited for the hen to open the gateway. 

"There you go cutie!" The hen clucked as the egg slid down the fence and turned into doorway. She sighed and watched as Ray hoped on his flying machine and disappeared into the doorway to level 4. "Why must boys like that always come and then go…" 

******** 

"Pass you will not!" Nims glared her beady eyes at the virus from the shadows. 

"Oh, but I will. One way or another!" Megabyte snarled and headed to where Nims sat. Nims was proving to be much more trouble for Megabyte than Niles had been. Even the threat of infection hadn't made her change her mind about letting him pass. 

"In no condition to make threats are you, virus." Nims tilted her head slightly as the big blue metallic creature walked toward her. She could tell he was injured by the way he walked. 

"I don't need to make threats, Madam." He reached for her in the shadows. "I _am_ a threat!" He reached out with the other clawed hand as she darted for a nearby tree. He grabbed her by throat and raised her in the air as she fought against his grip with her hind legs. 

"Never give in shall I!" Nims choked on her words as the virus squeezed tighter. "Delete me you must, for give in shall I not!" Even as Megabyte squeezed the life out of her, she remained strong in her resistance. 

"Very well." Megabyte leaned in and looker her in the eyes with a razor bladed sneer that slowly turned into a smile. "Have it your way." 

Megabyte tightened his grip on the game sprite's neck, watching as her breaths became slowed and labored. Just as she was about the draw in her last breath, he twisted his wrist with a sharp jagged pop. The crunching sound as Nims's neck broke filled the silent air of the garden she had called her home. Megabyte dropped her limp body to ground and watched as the earth opened beside him. He sneered when the pain from A.v.A. returned to his files, but laughed arrogantly as he walked into level 12. 

******** 

"AndrAIa!" Matrix called out over the roaring sound of the wind as AndrAIa fell to her knees in the bitter cold snow. He rushed over to her over the drifting white mounds, stumbling in his own footsteps more than once. 

"Are you alright?" He reached down and helped her to her feet, using his massive body to shield her from the harsh wind. Their leather attire had offered little warmth, and AndrAIa's outfit had left her even more vulnerable to the cold. 

"I slipped on a rock beneath the snow." She looked up at him, her voice sore from having to yell over the loud winds. 

"We're almost there." Matrix pointed up to the entrance to the cave that lay just a little further up the mountain. This game had taken them through all kinds of landscapes. Some were easy, others, like this one, were not. The Key Masters had also gotten more difficult with each passing level. Matrix felt useless in this game. It was AndrAIa that had been getting them from level to level, answering the puzzles presented by the Key Masters with an ease that Matrix couldn't comprehend. He smiled down at her. He may have felt useless, but he also felt lucky to have her by his side. 

"I'm so cold." AndrAIa shivered and wrapped the thin leather jacket around her bare legs. The jacket felt like razors against her frost bitten skin and made her wince. 

"I know." Matrix wrapped his arms around her, trying to get her warm. His own frozen state didn't help very much. He sighed and scooped her up into his arms. 

"Matrix, I'm fine to walk." AndrAIa made only a slight protest. 

"I know." He smiled down at her for a moment, then set his glare on the cave entrance. 

******* 

"Dot, we have a problem." Bob looked up from Glitch to Dot who was a few paces ahead. 

"What?" Dot stopped and looked at him. 

"We have two ABCs on the map left to check, and Megabyte just joined us on this level." 

"That is a problem. Ok, so I will go to one ABC and you go to the other. One of them has to be the right one." Dot began walking to Bob to see where the two ABCs were. 

"No, we aren't splitting up." Bob protested. 

"We have to!" Dot put in her own protest. 

"No. You are in no condition to deal with Megabyte on your own."  
  


"I'm fine. It's the only way." Dot crossed her arms as Bob looked sternly at her. 

"Dot, I'm not leaving you alone with him." Bob walked over and held onto her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "Not again." 

"But.." 

"No buts, Dot." He gave her a small smile. "We will pick one and hope it's the right one. If its not, then we will always have another chance to defeat him. If you go alone, in your condition.." 

"I know.." She lowered her head slightly, seeing a loophole form in her plan. 

"Hey, " He lifted her head gently and looked back into her eyes. "It will be ok. " 

"I know Bob." She smiled as she looked into his eyes, and she new that everything would be ok. "As long as we're together, right?" 

"Right." He smiled wider and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss was small and sweet, yet true and filled with the love between them. He pulled away, still holding her in his arms, and smiled again. "So, fearless leader, pick one." 

*********** 

"Mouse!" Ray called out as he banked Baud through the level. He rose higher in the air and took another look around from the better vantage point, only to sigh and shake his head. When he had reached the level, his heart and hopes for her had fallen. The level was an endless flowing mass of blue ocean. If she had been knocked unconscious by the fall, the waters would have swallowed her up and pulled her down. He had called her name out endlessly since reaching the level, but his calls had lowered in frequency the longer he surfed above the endless horizon of water. There had been a few tiny islands darted about the sea, but all had been empty banks of sand. Each empty island had caused his breath to stop and his hopes to fall just a little more. Looking out over the dark and silent water, his breath stopped again. He sped baud to another small island, assured that it too would be empty of life. 

"Empty." Ray sighed as he glanced about the small sand bank that was surrounded by a mass of kelp and beached drift wood from some distant land. He banked Baud in a sharp turn and checked the other side of the small sand bank that was hidden by a dune, just to humor himself. He stopped and looked down at the shoreline. Kelp. Logs. Kelp. Hand. Logs. His heart stopped. 

"Mouse?!" Ray shouted and jumped off of Baud, running through the shallow waters to the mass of kelp and wood that held the hand and his heart. He feel to his knees and dug through the tangled green and brown mass, its matted nature like the many floating seaweed rafts he had seen in this level. 

"Mouse? Oh please, luv." He tore the kelp away from her motionless body with a ravaging force. Lifting her up into his arms, he carried her away from the cold waters and fell to the sandy beach, Baud right at his side. His hands shook as he lifted them to her pale and cold face, his heart assured that he had lost her. 

"Mouse please, wake up luv." Her still lips gave him no reply. "I cant loose you." He took her soaked body into his harms and held her close, his tears mixing with the matted wetness of her hair. 

"I just found you." Ray held her in the silence of the sandy beach, his breath getting choked on the deep sadness in his throat. In that still silence he heard it. Faint and distant, it echoed in his files like a pulse of unimaginable beauty. It was the shallow rhythm of her breath. She was alive. His whole world returned to him as he smiled and held her tightly against him. She was alive. 

************ 

"Its warm in here." Matrix peered around the cave as he set AndrAIa back on her feet. 

"Well, warmer." AndrAIa shivered. "So, where is it?" 

"Depends on what your looking for, child." An elderly male voice echoed out of the darkness. 

"We seek the Key Master." Matrix called into the cave as his eyes continued to search the darkness. 

"Then you have come to the right cave." The game sprite hobbled out of the darkness, its massive but short body leaning on a cane. The majestic beauty of the snow tiger was not at all hampered by his aged and weary appearance. He sat slowly down on a rock and looked up at the two standing before him. 

"We seek to pass to the next level." AndrAIa stepped forward with a smile. 

"Do you? Then you have come a long way for nothing." The tiger peered his deep blue eyes up at her. 

"But you are the Key Master! We must pass!" Matrix stepped forward and gruffed out. 

"There is no we, boy!" The tiger glared at him and his rudeness. He turned back to AndrAIa and turned the glare into a patient, smiling face. "There is no we." 

"I understand." AndrAIa nodded with a small sigh. She turned to Matrix. "There is no we this time, Sparky." 

"What?" Matrix crossed his arms. 

"Only one of us can go to the final level. That's the puzzle for this level. We have to choose." 

"Well looks like you will just have to stay here and keep our friend company then." Matrix uncrossed his arms and looked to the tiger to open the gateway. 

"Hold it! I'm going." 

"No your not! Your not going to the final level alone. There's no telling what's on it. It may not be a puzzle at all!" Matrix shook his head sternly and looked back to the tiger. 

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." The tiger shrugged. "I've never been myself." 

"If it is a puzzle, I stand the best chance." AndrAIa put her hand on her hip. 

"I just cant let you go alone." Matrix sighed and placed his hand on Gun. He knew that if it was a puzzle, Gun would be a correct answer despite the risk of crashing the game. If it was a fight, he wanted it to be him fighting, not her. She could take care of herself, he knew, but the small possibility made him extremely uneasy. 

"Matrix…" AndrAIa looked at the stubborn sprite. 

"So, you have chosen?" The tiger raised an eyebrow and readied his cane to make the gateway. 

"Yes." AndrAIa said as she stepped beside Matrix, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

********* 

"That's odd." Bob stopped in his footsteps and looked down at Glitch. The tone in his voice made Dot stop too and look at him. "AndrAIa and Matrix's PIDs just split up." 

"What?" Dot raised an eyebrow and walked over to him. 

"One of them stayed on level seventeen, and the other continued to level eighteen." Bob continued and showed Dot the image on Glitch. 

"Why would they do that?" 

"Maybe one of them got hurt." Bob shrugged. 

"Hurt!" 

"Sorry Dot." Bob frowned. "It may also just be part of the game. Maybe only one could complete the game, not both." He gave her a smile, mad at himself for not telling her that reason first. 

"Alright." Dot nodded slightly and gave him a small smile. "Well lets continue then." 

"It should be just around this hillside." Bob looked back down at Glitch to recheck the location of the ABC. 

"Ok. Lets hope its the right one." Dot took a deep breath and continued around the hill. When she got to the other side she smiled. "Bingo." 

"Oh!" The good doctor blinked when he noticed Dot. He dropped what he was doing and took off in a run. 

"Going somewhere?" Bob crossed his arms and stepped into the path of the fleeing bynome. "Where are they?" 

"Vhere are vhat, Guardian?" 

"No time for games." Dot stepped up behind the doctor. "Where are the rest of Megabyte's injections?" 

"Oh? Vhat inzectionz vould those be?" The doctor stubbornly put his hands on his hips and smiled innocently up at the two sprites. 

"You know what injections. Come on." Bob grabbed the doctors hand and dragged him to the ABC. 

"Ah! Mine digits!" The doctor whined as he tried to make his short legs keep up. 

"Alright! I vill show you." The doctor crawled into the backseat of the ABC and lifted up one of the seats to reveal a compartment. He pulled a small metal case and handed it to Bob. "Zere! Now let me go." 

"Your cowardness is greatly appreciated." Dot smiled as Bob handed her the case. The doctor glared at her then took off in a dead run for the tree line. 

"Hey! I didn't say you could go!" Bob started to run after. 

"Let him go Bob." Dot said as she opened the case. Inside lay an injection gun and three viles of a bright green liquid. "We have what we need." 

"Wrong, Mrs. Matrix. You have what I need." Megabyte's voice sent a chill up her spine as she turned to face his razor bladed sneer. 

********** 

"This is all your fault!" Hack stopped and crossed his arms. 

"It is not!" Slash stopped and turned to Hack. "Its your fault." 

"You were supposed to be watching Enzo!" 

"No you were, and you lost him!" 

"I did not lose him, you did!" 

"No, you did!" 

"You!" 

"You!" 

"YOU!" 

"YOU!" Slash crossed his arms and turned his back to Hack. After a few 

killisecs, he raised an eyebrow. "Uhm, Hack?" 

"Oh, so we are talking now?" Hack quipped. "What Slash?" 

"Are you afraid?" Slash turned and looked at Hack, his parts shaking slightly. 

"Yes, yes I am." Hack turned to Slash, his own parts shaking slightly. 

"Ok, because I am very frightened!" 

"Me too buddy!" 

"Hold me!" They held each other, shaking and looking about. The dark cave that they had been stuck in seemed endless. They never thought they would get stuck in a game cube when they went to go look for Enzo. They looked at each other, feeling lost and afraid. "WhAAAAAaaAAAa!" 

********** 

She was there again. The cold darkness consumed her as the quiet stillness enveloped her in its protection. She was safe and at peace. Until it came again, at least. The rhythm began as a faint echo from a distant approaching light. Steady and constant as time, the footsteps grew in sound. The figure was coming again, its arms outstretched to the crouched and crying red-headed child. _Go away!_ the child would yell before pulling her legs to her chest, inching her way as far back into the dark corner as possible. 

_Your not real, your gone_. The girl would cry over and over again, the figure constant in its unrelenting approach. _Momma, please, just leave me be. _ The shadowed figure knelt down beside the child, its arms outstretched. For the first time, the figure broke the silence of the dark room as it spoke. _Its alright, luv. She's gone. Its just me_. The figure smiled after it spoke, causing the girl to cringe, and a great light brought an end to the darkness. The child disappeared with the dark, and Mouse looked up into the warmth of the light. 

"Ray?" Mouse mumbled on her cracked lips as her eyes opened to the bright sunlight from over head. Her whole body felt stiff and unmovable as she tried to make her eyes focus from their jumbled haze. Where she was had yet to make its way into her mind. She could hear a distant sound, rhythmic and calm. The sound of the lapping ocean against the shoreline brought everything back into her memory with a frightening jolt. It caused her to sit upright, despite the pain. By all logical accounts, she should be deleted. 

"What…where…how?" She looked slowly over the small island, confusion replacing the fear. A sudden wave of warmth caused her to look down. "What the dell?" Baud had her hovering a few feet off the ground and wrapped in a formatted energy blanket. Her head rose as she looked franticly for Ray, wanting nothing more than to see that smile again. But the island was empty, except for she and Baud. She looked back down at Baud with a raised eyebrow. 

"Where's Ray?" Baud beeped, causing her to roll her eyes. "Never…." Baud took the energy blanket and reformatted it back into itself before beeping again, changing light formations, and sending a beam of energy to the ground a few feet away. "…mind." Mouse finished and her mouth fell into a silent gasp as the energy beam took the form of Ray. 

" 'Ello pretty lady." Ray smiled at her as he walked over. The strange timidness in his voice made Mouse just as confused as him appearing from an energy beam. "I'm glad to see you awake." He slowly took a seat on the edge of Baud, wanting to just reach out and pull her into his arms. The strange look in Mouse's eyes, however, told him that an explanation was due first. 

"Ray?" Mouse raised an eyebrow and touched him with a finger, as if checking to see if he was real. 

"Its me luv." He took her hand in his and kissed it gently. 

"But how…I mean…I just saw…and you…" No matter how hard she tried, Mouse was unable to but her thoughts into a compete sentence. She took in a deep breath and shook her head, thinking her files must still be full of seawater. "And why in the dell am I not deleted." 

"Whoa, slow down. One question at a time." Ray was unable to make himself let go of her hand. If he did, he was afraid he would loose her with the explanation to come. 

"Ok…" Mouse slowly looked back up at his face. "How am I here and fully functioning for starters?" 

"I don't know how you got here, but I found you on the shore over there. You were barely functioning, so I, or Baud rather, gave you a recharge." Ray breathed in, thinking that so far the explanation had gone simply enough. 

"And the fancy light show?" Mouse tilter her head with a raised eyebrow. 

"Well…" The simplicity ended. "that was Baud reformatting me." 

"Reformatting you?" Mouse blinked a few times. 

"Yes. You see…its kind of like…I mean…well you know…" Now he was the one having trouble making complete sentences. "You know how you think that I'm a search engine and Baud is my search tool?" 

"Yes…." Mouse spoke slowly, feeling an unwanted explanation coming. 

"Well…you see.." Ray scratched the back of his head for a moment then sighed, taking her hand in both of his again. "It's the other way around, actually." 

"What?" Mouse sat back away from him a bit, the raised eyebrow getting higher. 

"Mouse, Baud is the real search engine. I'm…I'm a physical interface." 

"Physical interface." She repeated, in the same slow tone she had used before. 

"I'm the tool Baud uses to search and interact with others. " He sighed, hoping that made at least some since. 

"So you and Baud are the same person…erhm…program…whatever." Mouse had never seen a physical interface before. She had never even heard of one. 

"No, well yes…but no. See, together, we are a search engine with a shared program code, but separately he is Baud and I am Ray Tracer." Ray let his shoulders sag slightly, wondering if this explanation could be any more confusing. 

"I've been all over the net, honey, and I've seen other search engines…but I never thought, I mean it never even occurred…" She shook her head again. "are they all like this?" 

"No, not all. Most have an integrated physical interface, not a separate one. Well at least that I've come in contact with. I'm just lucky I guess." He smiled and attempted the joke, then frowned and realized he needed to work on his timing. Ray could tell how confused Mouse was by the look on her face. He knew she didn't like being kept in the dark, especially when it came to advanced and new programming. _I should have told her before._ he thought. Her hand started to slip from his and he tightened his grip, so afraid to let go. "Its still me, luv. I'm still Ray." 

Mouse stared at him a while, trying to make her mind process what it was she was hearing. Her mind was having a hard enough time trying to keep her eyes from going hazy. Baud recharged her, but she was still extremely sore. She had so many questions, but had no idea how to put them to words. For her, it was best just to process over the new information for a while. She sighed and faked a tired yawn, laying back down against baud. "I'm…I think I need to rest, sugah " 

"Alright luv." Ray leaned away from her as she laid down. She was faking, and he knew it. Her hand slipped from his as she turned her back to him. He rose from Baud and went to the other side of the beach, taking a seat as he looked down at his hands. They had let go, and he had lost her. 

******** 

"I don't have time for this." Matrix growled into the darkness. He felt as if he had been standing there waiting forever. 

"You have all the time I decide you do, boy!" The gruffed and darkly toned voice carried a growl to rival Matrix. 

"Are you the Key Lord or not?" He continued to search the darkness, sick of listening to the voice without a form. 

"Didn't you listen to that fat cow, Boy? What I am doesn't matter. I ask the questions, not you!" 

"What is the point to this? Give me a puzzle, attack me, or just shut the FAQ up!" 

"My you are an impatient one! I am surprised you passed the hen." Matrix had no idea who he meant. "You want a point? There is no point!" A flash of red peered from the dark source of the voice. "A puzzle? No, you would rather fight, wouldn't you boy!" 

"Stop calling me that!" Matrix glared at the red eyed creature. 

"Why? You are a boy! A mere child!" 

"Are you blind! I am not." Matrix ground his teeth as a sneer formed on his lips. 

"Not now, but that doesn't matter, remember." The sound of the cows voice appeared from the darkness then disappeared again with a moo. 

"What…" Matrix couldn't believe how seriously messed up this game was. "Are you saying I will be a boy in the end?" 

"Am I, boy? I ask the questions, not you remember!" 

"What do you want from me!" Matrix pulled Gun up, his muscles as tense as his emotions. 

"You tell me, boy." The red eyes appeared from the dark shadows, accompanied by the sneering face of a large black wolf. 

********** 

"I'll see your five credits, and I'll raise you four." Enzo tossed the chips to the centre of the table. He looked around at the bynomes seated around him before turning to Phong. 

"Uhm…I…" Phong pondered over the cards in his hand for a moment, stroking his beard as he thought. "I fold." He laid the cards face down on the table. 

"What?" Enzo rolled his eyes. "Phong, you can fold every hand." 

"Why not? It is always better to be safe than sorry, my son." Phong gave him a smile. 

"Fine." Enzo shook his head in a small laugh and adjusted his cap. He looked to the others playing the game and grinned. "Ok, show'em." The bynomes laid down their cards, most with a frown. 

"Woo-hoo! Alphanumeric! " Enzo scooped up the several chips from the centre of the table. The little card shark had managed to wipe out several of the bynomes in the bunker. Luckily, they were playing for jet-ball game credits, not real credits. To Enzo, jet-ball credits were just as good, if not better. 

"Play again?" Phong began to reshuffle the cards. 

"No." Enzo sighed. His answer caused many of the bynomes to smile. "I just wish that game would end already!" 

"So do I, my son. So do I" Phong looked over to the vid-window that displayed the large purple game cub in the middle of sector KIT and shook his head lightly. He turned back to the table. "Ok, well how about go-fish instead?" 

******* 

"Megabyte!" Bob ran back over to Dot's side by the ABC. 

"Very good, Guardian." Megabyte rolled his eyes. "You always did have an amazing ability to point out the obvious." 

"Then I guess I should point out the fact that you don't look so well." Bob laughed as he stepped between the virus and Dot, Glitch pointed and ready to strike. 

"Your concern for my well being is touching, Bob." Megabyte sneered and began walking forward. 

"That's far enough!" Bob took a step forward and pointed Glitch strait at him. 

"Or what, Guardian?" Megabyte growled, then switched his attention to Dot as she stood clutching the metal case he needed. "Lovely to see your better, Dot." His eyes on her and the presence of a small amount of concern in his voice made Dot cringe. 

"Leave her out of this." Bob stepped in, blocking Megabyte's view of Dot. "You want those injections? " He glared at Megabyte, almost taunting him on. Deep down, despite his code telling him to mend, Bob wanted that virus to come at him. "You'll have to come through me first." 

"Amusing." Megabyte did his best to laugh, despite knowing how unwell he truly was. "Fine Guardian, have it your way." 

"Bob, no!" Dot called out, but it was too late. He and the virus were already in a dead run toward each other. Dot watched as Megabyte's claws unfurled and Glitch formed the energy blade. It was a mad dance of metal and flesh as they reached one another. 

********** 

"You seem nervous, child." The white tiger lifted his eyebrow as he watched AndrAIa pace the length of the cave. "Do you lack faith in his abilities to complete the game?" 

"No!" AndrAIa stopped suddenly and turned to him. "Not at all!" 

"Then what nerves you?" The tiger scratched his chin. 

"I don't know." AndrAIa finally sat down next to him. "I guess its just this game. It feels odd, as if something besides a simple puzzle awaits him." 

"As a game sprite, you should know that every game has its…odd points." 

"What exactly is the point of this game?" AndrAIa tilted her head at the aged game sprite next to her. 

"That, my child, is different for everyone who makes it this far." He sighed and placed his warm furred hand on her own. "In the end, only the winner of the game knows for sure." He smiled lightly as she nodded in at least some type of understanding. 

********** 

"Come on, boy!" The large, pitch- black wolf circled Matrix, as if sizing up its next meal. It sneered in a mocking tone, watching the large green sprite before it, never once taking its leering red eyes off of its target. "Why don't you just attack me?" 

"Fine!" Matrix raised Gun up and targeted the circling wolf. 

"That is all you care about, isn't it?" The wolf kept circling, unwavered by the glowing red target on its chest. "Winning the Game? The next fight?" 

"No!" Matrix wavered slightly in his aim. "I got over that a long time ago." 

"Did you? You mean in that dream of yours? Or was it a dream? Are you so sure you've gotten over your infatuation with yourself?" 

"What?" Matrix blinked. The wolf was reading his code like an open read-me file. 

"It is still all you care about isn't it? At peace you are uneasy, aren't you? You feel trapped? Useless?" The wolf moved in for the kill. "That is why in the end you will be nothing but a lonely selfish boy!" 

"No!" Matrix growled and tossed Gun to the ground. All he wanted to do was to take the wolf in his bare hands and silence him. That feeling building up inside of him made him look away from the wolf and down to his hands. 

"You will never become the thing you hate, wasn't it boy?" The wolf drew his circle in closer. "Finding resolve for that drove you back here, did it not?" 

"Yes." Matrix answered, so tired of fighting. 

"And now that you have resolved it, why do you keep fighting?" 

"It is all I have to offer." Matrix looked down to where Gun lay. 

"Not the wars, boy!" The wolf stepped in front of Matrix's view of Gun with a low and glaring growl. "Why do you keep fighting with yourself?" 

************* 

Ray watched her in silence, listening to the distant sound of her breath and the rhythmic movement of the ocean against the shoreline. He wished he could roll back time so he could tell her before that night. He wondered if it would have made any difference. Hopefully, he thought that it wouldn't have changed a single thing. Deep down, however, his doubts were growing larger with each silent nano that passed between them. He drew absentmindedly in the sand before taking it upon himself to bring an end to the distance. 

"Mouse?" He stood and walked across the sandy beach to where she lay on Baud. His shoulders sagged with a frown when he received no reply. "Are you awake, luv?" 

"I am now." She said softly. Truthfully, she hadn't slept at all. Her eyes had been intently focused on the endless horizon, the discussion from earlier replaying itself in her head. 

"Oh. Sorry if I woke you." He took another few steps closer to her as she sat up, her back still turned to him. 

"Its alright, sugah." Mouse continued to stare out at the horizon, unable to take her eyes from its steady unending line. As Ray walked around the other side of Baud, she was forced to finally look at him, not really sure what her emotions were telling her. 

"Can we talk, luv?" Ray took a tentative seat on Baud next to her, the same desire to hold her still present within him. Mouse only nodded slowly at him, which to him was better than nothing. He gave her a small smile and reached out to touch her hand. 

"Mouse, I…" 

"Ahoy!" Binky's voice rang out from the bow of the ship as it came ashore on the small sandbank, bringing an end to the silent calm. "Ahoy there!" 

******** 

"Bob!" Dot yelled out as Megabyte threw Bob into a nearby tree. The tree's branches broke his fall with a large crack, and nearly his arm. 

"Even when I am not at full strength you are no match for me, Guardian!" Megabyte boasted. He growled and lumbered his massive form toward where Bob lay, dazed and slow to react. 

"No!" Dot yelled at the virus, causing him to turn her way. Megabyte eyed the injection case she clutched for a moment, then turned his eyes back to Bob. 

"We will continue this dance some other time." Megabyte turned sharply and grinned up at Dot as his legs put him into a steady motion toward her. "You have something I need, Dot!" He growled at calling her Dot again, still steady in his approach. 

"Then come and get it, virus." Dot sneered at him and tucked the silver case into her belt. 

"Dot?" Bob blinked a few times, their voices hazy and distant. He came to his senses in time to see Megabyte at a full out run toward Dot. Now the tables were turned. He rose to his feet and stumbled away from the tree. 

"Dot no!" Bob watched as Megabyte picked her up by the waist and sneered darkly at her. 

"You have something I need." Megabyte repeated, his face inches from hers. 

"Not for long." Dot slipped the case from her belt and tossed it to Bob. "Bob, catch!" Both she and Megabyte watched as the case floated in the air toward its target. 

********** 

"Why boy?" The wolf looked back at Gun. "Is that really all you have to offer?" 

"Yes!…No!…I don't know…" 

"What are you?" The wolf took slow and steady advances toward Matrix, its head falling ever lower as it waited for the sprite to slip and fall into its waiting jaws. 

"I am Matrix." Matrix glanced toward Gun, then set his eyes back to the wolf. The wolf's unending gaze caused Matrix to turn away. That gaze was burning into him, searing his files with an unrelentless search for a truth that Matrix didn't believe was there. His answer caused the wolf to snarl and quicken its stride. 

"Matrix is a name. Names mean nothing. What are you, boy?" The wolf's patience was growing thin, and its hunger was growing. It began to circle its target again. 

"I…" The darkness began to play scenes of his life that only his eyes could view. He watched himself as he fought back the infected Guardians to protect Mainframe. 

"I am a fighter." Matrix stared blankly into the darkness as the wolf moved in for the kill. 

"But the battles are pointless!" The image in the darkness shifted to his younger self, proudly wining the games. 

"I am a Guardian." 

"But you are a renegade that cheats in the games!" The image faded and left the young Enzo and a disappointed looking Bob staring at him. That image shifted in a haze to AndrAIa's loving smile, a small whisper of "_hello lover_" echoing into his ears. 

"I am a lover." 

"But you never told her, did you!" The wolf changed directions, ever closer to its meal. It could taste defeat in the air. This boy would never figure out the answer. This boy would never understand. This boy would loose. 

********** 

"Bob! Catch it!" Dot yelled to Bob as Megabyte dropped her to the ground. The Metal case shimmered as it turned in the sunlit air. Megabyte growled and began to run for it, watching as Bob took a few steps forward with his hands outstretched. 

"I've got it!" Bob watched as the case lowered to his hands, then he blinked as it disappeared in a flash of unexpected movement. 

"Wrong! I have it!" The good doctor laughed as he landed with the case in his hand. He had jumped from the bushes just in time to intercept his master's precious serum. 

"No!" Dot yelled out across the meadow as Bob looked up at her empty-handed. 

"Brilliant!" Megabyte couldn't stop himself from laughing as the good doctor began running toward him with the case. 

"Stop!" Bob yelled out at the doctor and started running after him. He leapt at the doctor, catching one of his feet. The doctor tripped, and the case went back into air-born flight. Bob watched the case and Dot as she ran to catch it. Bob's attentions turned to Megabyte as he too began a dead run to the serum's possible landing point. 

********** 

"I…" Matrix watched the scenes come and go in the darkness as the game continued to read his code. The scenes confused him and seemed jumbled, unrelated, and pointless. Dot would appear and look at him then fade into tears of blackness. His younger self would smile up at him, then run away with a frightened yell. Matrix felt something deep in his files calling to him, screaming the answer he so desperately needed. If only he could hear it. Dot and his younger self reappeared from the darkness, together. They were so sad, so alone, so in need of something. His thoughts raced as he searched for a way to hear what was being screamed at him in a distant echo. What did Dot need? What did he need? Matrix stopped and stared at his younger-self, his mouth slowly opening in an unvoiced realization. It wasn't him. It was Enzo, the copy. What did he need? The voices screaming to him began to clarify and grow louder. 

"What is it boy?" The wolf stopped suddenly and readied itself for the attack. "What do you see?" 

************* 

"What is it?" AndrAIa stumbled back as the Tiger rose from his seat with a small growl. 

"The User approaches." He peered out into the drifting snow, a dark patch of movement catching his eyes. 

"Oh no." AndrAIa watched as two men, the User's game mode, approached the cave entrance. 

"We seek the Key Master!" The User's voice called into the Tiger's cave. The Tiger looked back at AndrAIa with a small sign of regret before turning back to the User. 

"Then seek no further, for I am he." 

************** 

"No!" Bob yelled as he got to his feet, stepping over the doctor's body. He watched as Dot grabbed the case from the air, only to have arm pulled back by Megabyte. Megabyte glared down at her as he held her in his arms. "Put her down!" 

"Looks like I win again, Guardian." Megabyte began to laugh as he held Dot with one hand and the serum case with the other. Dot struggled against his strong grip and tried to kick the case from his other hand, with no luck. "Do calm down Dot. I did tell you I would win, didn't I?" His leering eyes on her made her freeze in the struggle. 

"Its not over yet!" Bob took another step forward and pointed glitch up at Megabyte. 

******** 

"That's it boy! Your time is at an end! The User has entered the gates of its Key Lord and is now facing the challenge you have been unable to fulfill. The User will complete the task and all that you have become will be for nothing. There will be no past, no future. Give up boy!" The wolf unfurled its claws, waiting for him to give up. The User would win and this sprite would become its meal. Another one lost and added to the score. So many sprites had made it this far only to scream and fail. Matrix stared blankly ahead still, peering at images his mind showed only to him. The wolf snarled and could take no more. It wanted an answer. "Well boy! What are you?" 

********** 

"You have come a great distance to seek the Key of Eternity. Your journey does not end here, it only begins." The slender white horse stepped out of the darkness and faced the User before it. 

"Are you the Key Lord?" The User watched as the horse drew nearer. 

"Am I? I ask the questions here. What you seek is here. What is it you seek?" The horse shook its ivory mane and peered its brown eyes down at the User before it. 

"I seek the key!" The User called. 

"The key to what?" The horse tilted its head. 

"The key to Eternity!" The User wondered when the horse was going to get to the puzzle. 

"Eternity of what?" 

"What?" The User took a small step back, not understanding the question. 

"I ask the questions here. What eternity do you seek?" The horse tilted its head again, thinking that it was a simple enough question to answer. 

********** 

"Glitch, restrai…" Bob's words were cut off as Megabyte hurled Dot at him. The force of her body knocked down to the ground and made them both wince in pain. 

"Not this time Guardian." Megabyte sneered a menacing grin at Bob and Dot as he opened the case. He took one of the serum capsules and loaded the injection gun, holding it to his arm with a dark chuckle. "I always win." The searing burn from A.v.A. as the serum hit its program caused Megabyte to snarl in pain. He fell to his knees and dropped the case beside him, still clutching the injection gun. 

"Is one enough?" Dot said in a painful moan as she rose from the ground. 

"I don't know." Bob shook his head and then looked down at the case that held the remaining two viles. He started to run toward the case as Megabyte reached for the next injection. Megabyte knew that one injection would not be enough and Bob could see it in the virus's eyes. 

********* 

"Come on boy! Its not that hard!" The wolf leaned on its back haunches, its muscles waiting to spring forward and rip the unworthy sprite apart. 

"The only thing that matters…" Matrix watched as the image of Dot kneeled down in front of him, the words she had spoken to him in the past whispering across the dark room "_I know Enzo, I'm just worried. You're my brother and I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you. So be careful."_ before her image disappeared. 

"The only thing constant…" Matrix continued to think out loud, his eyes never leaving the empty space before him. The wolf and its jeering snarls were distant and meaningless now. AndrAIa and Enzo appeared, her voice speaking with a truth he sought. "_He doesn't mean it Enzo. He just cares about you, and that's just his way of showing it. Isn't that right, Matrix?" _AndrAIa looked up at him with pleading eyes before fading back in the shadows, leaving Enzo staring up at him. 

"What I have always been and will always be…" Matrix blinked as the words slipped across his lips. He finally understood. He finally found a true purpose. He finally realized what he was. 

"Well, boy!" The wolf growled. The boy was figuring it out, and the thought of going hungry this time enraged the wolf. 

"I am…" 

*********** 

"Eternity of what?" The horse repeated. 

"I seek an eternity of…" The User thought for a moment. It wanted to give the horse an answer that would make it happy. The User would love an eternity of fame, of wealth, and of victory. But what would the horse want to hear?. 

"I seek an eternity of peace!" The User called out, happy to have won the game. 

"Then you shall have it!" The horse called out. 

*********** 

"You loose, Guardian!" Megabyte pinned bob down to the ground with his massive hand, his tendrils wrapped around the Guardian's body. Megabyte tightened the tendrils, squeezing Bob's body like he had done to that annoying rabbit. Megabyte reached for the serum case with his free hand and grinned darkly down at Bob. "And once I am free of this annoyance, you will watch as I make you loose everything." 

"Not in my system!" Dot charged at the source of her hate with a large tree branch, his metal breast plate making a large clang as she struck him. Megabyte flew backwards as his tendrils released Bob. The mad growl from his throat muffled the loud sound made by his massive body hitting the tree behind him, the sharpness of his claws tearing it in half. 

"Dot, look out!" Bob ran for Dot and pulled her out of the way as the large oak fell to the ground where she had been standing. They both looked at each other in a smile for a moment before turning their eyes to the crumpled mass of the tree. The serum case was nowhere to be seen, and a low muffled laugh began to sputter from beneath the branches. 

********* 

"I am…" Matrix took his eyes off of the shadows and stared at the wolf. The wolf snarled and snapped at him, feeling its defeat. 

"I am a brother." Matrix smiled with a dark glare. That smile broke the wolf into an uncontrollable rage. It leapt off of its back legs and sprang for Matrix's throat, its teeth bared. Matrix stood, unmoving and laughed. "And you are nothing." 

"No!" The wolf howled out into the pitch blackness as its form shattered into a million pixels just as it hit Matrix's chest. 

******* 

"Then you shall have it." The horse stepped toward the User, a dark smile appearing on its milk white face. The User smiled, so sure of its victory. That smile soon faded as the horse reared back onto its hind legs, its mouth opening into a deathly howl. As the horse landed back on all four legs again, the room filled with fire, leaving the User's game form in a pile of ashen nothingness. 

"The only true eternal peace comes in death." The horse blew the pile of ashes away and disappeared back into the shadows. 

******** 

"Phong! The game cube, its leaving!" Enzo jumped up from the table and ran over to the vid screen. Phong was close behind him as all of the bynome in the bunker turned their heads to watch. They waited as the loud voice made the every familiar call. 

" GAME OVER " 

Everyone in the bunker held their breath, hoping that more words wouldn't follow. A great cheer echoed through out the room as the game cub ascended and disappeared into the sky. 

"Pixelatious!" Enzo jumped into the air. "They won the game!" 

"Let us hope that that is not all they won." Phong stroked his beard with a worried tilts of the head, waiting to hear if Dot's plan had fully succeeded. 

*********** 


	9. End Game

This is a short chapter due to a bad case of writer's block that I'm currently battling. Chapter 10 should be posted soon. cheers! 

Chapter 9: **End Game**

"GAME OVER" 

The words echoed across sector KIT of Mainframe as the large purple game cube ascended into the sky. The CPUs had ended the evade and stall maneuvering as soon as the game had landed. Without Megabyte to command them, the ABCs had pulled away from their attacks and lay in wait for the game to end. As the sky returned to a fading blue with the rising light of the morning creeping over the far side of the Circon Industries building, the ABCs reved their engines in hopes of continuing the battle. The CPUs continued to relay the news back to the bunkers as they waited for word from the roof of Circon Industries. 

****** 

"Matrix!" AndrAIa grinned widely as she rushed to his side. She laughed and jumped up into his arms, glad to see him again and glad to see the game leave. 

"Hey." He smiled down at her, holding her just a little tighter than usual. His smirking smile let out a small laugh. 

"Well?" AndrAIa raised an eyebrow, glad to see him grinning instead of frowning. "What was it like?" 

"It was…interesting." 

"That's it?" She smirked. "I froze my ASCII off with that tiger to hear you say 'interesting' ? " 

"I'll tell you later." He winked at her. 

"Alright lover." The wink made her giggle slightly. That girlish giggle in turn made him laugh. 

"Lets find the others." They smiled at each other for another moment before turning to make their way to the other side of the large rooftop of Circon Industries. 

****** 

"I told you Bob and that Matrix boy would have everything under control, Sir. " 

"Indeed you did , Binky." He surveyed the bottom level of KIT sector where they had ended up after the game had departed. "Well then. Are you two alright?" 

"Sure are Sugah. Thanks for the lift." Mouse winked at the two bynomes. 

"Do you think Dot's plan worked? With Megabyte, I mean." Binky questioned. 

"Only one way to find out, mate." Ray hopped onto Baud and looked up toward the distant roof of Circon Industries before looking back at Mouse. "Care for a lift, pretty lady?" 

"Don't suppose I have much of a choice, seeing as I have no idea where my ship ended up." She sighed and hesitantly got onto Baud, still on edge due to their earlier conversation. Ray looping his arm around her waist didn't help much, but she just decided to leave things cordial for now. 

"Don't worry, Miss! We shall locate your ship for you!" The commander said heroically. 

"Thanks boys." Mouse nodded to them before she, Ray, and Baud ascended to the roof. 

"Come Binky, let us find that ship." He looked down at his empty mug. "And see if we cant find ourselves a refill of cocoa." 

"Very good Sir." Binky nodded and went to retrieve a still functioning CPU. 

***** 

"Hooray! " Hack cheered as the dark cave left with the game. 

"The game is over!" Slash cheered. 

"We are no longer lost!" 

"Yes indeedy!" Slash agreed, then looked around their new surroundings and scratched the top of his head for a nano. "Uhm, Hack?" 

"Yes, buddy?" 

"Are you sure we are no longer lost?" They both looked around the many offices and hallways that made up the maze-like interior of the Circon Industries building where they had ended up after the game had left. 

"Oh. This could be a problem." Hack sighed. 

"Well, at least it is no longer dark!" Slash pointed to the morning light that filled the windows of the building. 

"Very good point." 

"Thank you." 

"Ok, so lets go this way." 

"I think we should go right." 

"Left." 

"Right!" 

"Left!" 

"RIGHT!" 

"LEFT!" 

********* 

"Dot, are you alright?" Bob helped her stand from the hard roof of the Circon building. 

"I think so, thanks to you." She smiled up at him. "I didn't mean for the tree to fall on top of him." 

"I cant believe you knocked him back hard enough, though I think his claws brought the tree down on himself." Bob laughed lightly at the image of Dot ramming Megabyte with that branch that was almost as big as she was. 

"I had had enough." The monotone inflection in her voice caused Bob to stop laughing. He nodded to her with a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. They both looked across the large expanse of the roof, its surface dotted with large turbines, stacks, and one toppled over data-tower. The data spread itself over the roof, getting Bob and Dot's feet wet. 

"The data-tower must have been the tree in the game." Bob frowned as he pointed to the large fallen metal tower. 

"Then Megabyte must be under it." Dot cracked her neck with a jarring of her shoulder blade before walking through the large data puddle toward the fallen tower. Dot still held a small hope that they wouldn't find Megabyte under that fallen mass of twisted metal and flowing data. She hoped that something else, a cured sprite perhaps, would be there instead, but that menacing laugh that had echoed from underneath the tree as the game left led her to believe otherwise. 

"Dot, wait!" Bob called to her as she began to lift up one of the smaller pieces of metal, but she couldn't wait. Her entire plan had hinged itself on this moment. Every nano of the past three cycles lead up to this single moment. This moment would be the deciding factor. She had to know if her plan had been successful, or if she had failed. As her hand lifted up one of the metal sheets, her eyes went wide and a small gasp escaped from her throat. 

********* 

"Sir, we have incoming. Should we approach?" The bynome commander looked at Phong through the vid window. 

"Uhm…" Phong thought for a moment wishing Dot was there to answer the commander. He looked at Enzo then back up at the commander. "No, do not engage. Continue to evade. We must wait for word from Bob." 

"Understood, sir!" The bynome saluted and shut off the vid window. 

"They cant evade for ever. " Enzo sighed, feeling antsy again. 

"I know, my child." Phong stroked his beard thoughtfully. "But for now, it is all we can do." 

"I guess so." Enzo frowned as he shuffled his feet on the hard floor of the bunker. 

"You have desire to be back at the battle, my child?" Phong looked at the fidgeting Enzo with a tilt of the head. 

"Well…no…but yes…" He adjusted his cap and looked at Phong. "I just feel useless here, like I'm not doing enough, like I'm on the side, like I'm too basic, like I'm…" 

"Like you're too young." Phong finished for Enzo, feeling that sentence could have gone on forever. 

"Well, ya." Enzo lowered his eyes. 

"Your older self had this same problem, my son." 

"Matrix? Really?" Enzo looked back up. 

"Yes, he did." Phong smiled slightly. "He too felt left out, lonely, with out friends, too useless, too basic, too…" 

"Too young." Enzo finished, thinking that the old sprite sure did like to say long sentences. 

"Well, yes." Phong nodded. 

"What did he do?" Enzo said after a moment of silent thought. 

"Well, that is a long, but short, story, my child." Phong nodded, assured that that made sense in one way or another. "But, " He looked at the silent vid windows. "I suppose we have time while we wait." 

"Frosty!" Enzo smiled and took at seat. He enjoyed hearing about Matrix's adventures, no longer jealous but with more of a way to see his own possible potential. 

"Well lets see…where to begin." Phong nodded to himself and poured hot liquid from a canister into a mug. He offered the mug to Enzo. "Cocoa?" 

*********** 

"No…" Dot gasped and started to back away from the large pile of twisted metal that now moved with a new force. 

"Dot, what is it!" Bob called out as he rushed to her side, the look on her face sending a wave of fear through his files. As he neared her, the answer to his question leapt from the mesh of metal with one massive and jarring motion. "Dot!" 

"Damn you!" Dot screamed as the massive form leapt on top of her, pushing her hard against the unforgiving surface of the roof. The twisted sneer growled as he rose up, dragging her from the ground with a golden-clawed hand. The sneer changed to a menacing laugh, his eyes peering down at Dot's writhing form. 

"I win." Megabyte stated simply with an arrogance of undeniable truth. 

"Maybe this time!" Bob took a step forward, not wanting to give Megabyte a reason to move the claw he now had wrapped around Dot's throat. 

"Oh, Guardian! I didn't even notice you." Megabyte grinned arrogantly. "What was that? The noble come back of winning the battle but not the war? Oh please, don't humor me Guardian!" Megabyte snarled. "There is no war! I have won!" 

"Think again!" Matrix hit Megabyte from behind, causing him to loose his grip on Dot. Megabyte and Matrix fell to the ground in a blurred movement of metal and flesh. 

"Matrix!" Both AndrAIa and Dot called out at the same time as Matrix flew past, landing in the tangled pile of the remains of the data tower. 

"When will you give it up, boy!" Megabyte snarled as he rose to his feet. 

"When your no longer breathing, virus!" Matrix quipped back as he rose out of the metal pile with a hand from AndrAIa. 

"Quite a long time to play these games, boy." Megabyte laughed. 

"Not as long as you think." Bob glared at Megabyte from behind. Megabyte twisted around to look at Bob's glare and matched it with a snarl as he stared down the barrel of Glitch's energy blaster. 

********* 

"Left!" Hack yelled. 

"Right!" Slash yelled back. 

""You would say right!" 

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"You always get us lost!" 

"I most certainly do not!" 

"Do to!" 

"Do not!" 

"Oh, have you forgotten that time in the sewers?" 

"Bah!" Slash frowned. "What about the time you got lost in Bob's apartment building!" 

"Hey! That's not fair! All those doors were the same color!" 

"Oh, excuses, excuses." Slash snubbed. 

"Fine!" Hack turned his back to Slash. 

"Fine!" "Slash countered. Slash sighed and shook his head, then began to think for a moment. "Uhm, Hack?" 

"What, you have another joke at my expense!" 

"I did not mean to joke!" 

"It hurt my feelings!" Hack sniffled. 

"Oh! I am sorry buddy! I was simply giving an example!" 

"Its alright. You were saying something?" 

"Was I?" Slash scratched his head for a moment. "Oh yes! How exactly did we get ourselves un-lost before?" 

"Oh! Well we could not decide on a direction. I believe we went up." 

"Up?" Slash raised a brow. 

"Yes up!" 

"Uhm, ok!" Slash shrugged, then took out his rocket pack and disappeared into the ceiling above. 

"Buddy! Wait for me!" Hack dodged some of the falling pieces of ceiling. "He always has to take things so literally!" 

*********** 

"Looks like the party started with out us." Mouse quipped as she and Ray reached the rooftop 

"Seems so, luv." Ray slid his hand from Mouse's waist as she started to jump off of Baud. 

"Ah, Mouse. Pity to see you so alive and well." Megabyte said without taking his eyes off of the barrel of Glitch's blaster. 

"Mouse! Your alive!" Bob smiled. 

"Thank the User." Dot and Mouse exchanged a small hug. 

"I see our friend A.v.A. didn't work?" Mouse drew her eyes over the motionless and rigid form of Megabyte. 

"I will explain why later." Dot frowned. 

"Quite the standoff, mate." Ray landed Baud next to Bob. 

"He's lost." Matrix said as he and AndrAIa joined the circle that encompassed the virus. "It would take a miracle to get him out of this one. 

******** 

"Sir, we have a fix on Lord Megabyte." The viral ABC grinned. 

"And the rebels?" Chauncy questioned. 

"They have him surrounded! What should we do?" 

"Take them out." Chauncy sneered. 

"But Lord Megabyte is.." 

"You have your orders!" Chauncy yelled and shut off the vid-window. 

"Yes.." The vid window in the ABC cockpit disappeared. "Sir….Alright, you heard the lieutenant!" The hover tanks aimed upwards and into the center structure of Circon Industries. 

"Fire!" 

********* 

"Oh no." AndrAIa shot her eyes up as she felt the ground rumbling beneath her feet and a painful tinge in her senses. "Move!" 

"What?" Almost all of them asked in unison as she grabbed Matrix by the arm and jumped away from the circle. The rooftop shook with a rumbling force as the surface cracked and split, large pieces jutting upwards or downwards. 

"Dot!" Bob took Glitches aim off of Megabyte as Dot began to disappear into a sink hole in the crumbling mass beneath them. His feet sank and twisted in the moving cracks of the roof. The sounds of the roof cracking and groaning was dark and deafening. 

"Bob, I'm slipping!" Dot scratched her finger nails at the large moving piece of cement that her body desperately tried to hold onto. It jutted upwards with a sudden pop of sound before it slowly began to sink into the tangled mesh of destroyed floors and sharp rebar below. 

**** 

"Oh, wonderful." Mouse got out as the floor beneath her disappeared into a crumbling plume of dust and rumbling concrete. As she fell down the large hole, passing through several punched out floors, the fall from before and the now ironic situation ran through her mind. Saved from deletion only to fall again. A scream finally made its way past her throat as her eyes realized her body was plummeting strait for a large broken rebar spike that shot upwards like a waiting sword. 

"Not this time!" Ray caught her a few feet from the waiting spike of metal and ascended back to the roof, or what was left of it. 

"I'm pushing Lady Luck today." Mouse said with a racy breath, her heart feeling like it was about to explode from her chest. Despite earlier, she held as tightly to Ray as she could, assured that at any moment she would, for some unforeseen reason, start falling again. 

"Who needs luck when you got me?" Ray smiled and held her just as tightly. 

**** 

"Matrix, hold on!" AndrAIa clung to his arm as his feet fell from under him. Together they clawed their way to solid ground at the very edge of the roof. The ground still shook and rumbled with a deathly and dark groan, like an awaking monster from the bowels of the system. 

"This whole place is going to come down!" Matrix called out over the noise as he held onto her. 

**** 

"Bob, Help me!" Dot dug in her hands to the chunk of rock as it turned and rocked, its last supports of rebar bending and twisting to the weight. 

"Dot!" Bob reached for her, but was unable to move. He looked down and cursed. The roof had swallowed his foot and refused to let it go. He pulled on his leg and fought with the cemented monster, his eyes looking back up to Dot as he heard her scream. "No!" 

************** 

"Phong! Look!" Enzo jumped up and pointed to the vid-widow as Circon Industries began to collapse. "Its collapsing!" 

"Oh dear!" Phong raced over. He turned to a blank vid window and pulled up the emergency team. "Emergency team, proceed to sector KIT immediately!" 

"This is bad. This is very bad." Enzo watched as the building that held everyone he held dear began to crumble away. 

************** 

"This could be a problem" Hack said as he and slash dodged the falling pieces of stone and metal. 

"I hope we did not cause this!" 

"Do not be silly!" Hack said, but he too had the same worry. They had, after all, gone through the ceiling instead of the doors. 

"Look! There is light!" Slash pointed upwards through the now nonexistent top floors of the building. 

"But if there is light, then where is the roof?" 

"Oh dear." Slash sped up his accent to the morning sky above. 

************ 

"Let her go!" Bob yelled as Dot began to slip under a new source of weight. Megabyte's own support had fallen as the roof crumbled, causing him to seek something to hold on to. What he had found was Dot's leg. 

"I cant hold on!" Dot's arms ached as they struggled to hold onto the moving rock. The rock jolted and creaked as the added weight tore at what support it had left. Below them lay the tangle mesh of electrical cables, sharp rebar, and thirty floors to the bottom of sector KIT. It was the waiting mouth of this moving beast. Dot looked down at the virus attached to her leg, his golden claws tearing at her flesh as they struggled to hold on. Her hand slipped with a scream as the rough cement tore through her fingers. 

"Megabyte, let her go!" Bob still struggled with his foot, and the roof still refused to give it back to the distraught guardian. 

"Never!" Megabyte called as he looked for a new place on the roof to grab hold of. If he let go now, pain and uncertainty awaited him. 

"User, please." Dot whispered as she looked at her now bloody fingertips as the continued to slide down the surface of the rock chunk. With tear filled eyes she looked at Bob, knowing that he was unable to help her. The look of helplessness in his eyes horrified her. She let her eyes fall to her last hope. "Megabyte, please." 

"I cant." Megabyte looked deeply into her violet eyes, a deep set frown replacing his snarl of pain. If he held on, they would both fall. Even if he didn't survive, Dot would have gone with him, causing the sprites he hated deep pain, especially Bob. His claws dug into her leg as he thought about what her loss would do to the Guardian and that boy. He could taste the victory, the power over the situation. 

"Please." She called to him again, the sound of her voice sending that same nauseatingly emotional tinge into his files again. It was that look in her eyes, just as before. He couldn't stand to have her look at him. That look made him do something he hated. It made him regret, for a mere nano, what he was. 

"Dot…" Megabyte whispered her name amongst the noise from the collapsing building around them. As his claws loosened their grip on her leg, he took in that look on her face with an emotional sensation that he was sure she understood. He hoped he would never have to face that look again as he fell into the dark depths of the bowels of the beast, alone. 

******* 


	10. Out Of the Ashes

Part 10: Out of the Ashes****

****

****

"Dot, hold on!" Dot looked up from the black pit as she heard Bob's voice call to her. His voice seemed distant and hazy as her mind focused on the look that Megabyte had given her as he fell. The expression had been oddly placed on the virus's face, as if it didn't belong on it, or to him. The expression seemed like it should have been somewhere else, on someone else's face. That fact that it had been present on his face made Dot shutter slightly, her mind still unfocused on the world around her. A large jolt from the stone she grasped onto brought her thoughts back to reality. 

"Dot, just hold on. I'll be there in a nano. I'm not going to let you fall." Bob continued to yank on his foot as the cracked stone that incased it tore at his boots and flesh. 

"I know." Dot said solemnly, unaware that her eyes were full of tears. It all still seemed distant and unreal. It wasn't until the two remaining supports of rebar gave away with a deafening snap that her senses finally came back to her. By then, however, it was to late. Without a single scream or utterance, her body slipped off of the rock and disappeared into the darkened pit where her mind had been focused moments before. 

******* 

"We've got to get out of here, mates." Ray looked down at Matrix and AndrAIa as he and Mouse stood on Baud at the edge of the building. 

"How? We cant all fit on Baud." Matrix looked around for other options as he spoke. 

"Good point Sugah. Radio for help?" Mouse looked up at Ray and the radio attached to his belt. 

"Sorry luv, that radio is nulled." 

"Spammit!" Mouse sighed. The building was going to come down, and it was going to come down fast. 

"AndrAIa?" Matrix glanced over as AndrAIa began to crawl herself along the edge of the building, her foot slipping a few times through the roof's surface. "What are you doing?" 

"I see something." She called back over her shoulder. "It looks like a PID icon!" 

"What?" Then Matrix turned his eyes to the distance between themselves and his sister. 

"Dot!" He took a few steps forward, then was forced to quickly jump back as the roof gave way under his weight. "Bob's stuck, and it looks like Megabyte is trying to pull Dot down!" 

"On my way." Ray started to let Mouse off Baud, intent on going to where Matrix couldn't. 

"Gun, target." Gun shot up into Matrix's hand and he aimed at the distant blue steel creature attached to his sister's foot. Just as he was about to fire, his mouth went slightly wide. 

"He let go…I mean, he slipped." Matrix refused to believe that Megabyte had let go of his own accord. 

"It is a PID!" AndrAIa began to reach across a gapping hole in the crumbling roof to where the icon lay. "Strange looking one though." 

"Careful honey!" Mouse got out just as the roof gave one last moaning crack. The building was going down. "Its going!" 

"Back up you go." Ray wrapped his arm around Mouse's waist and set her on Baud. "C'mon Matrix!" Ray held out his hand to the large green sprite. 

"Go get AndrAIa!" Matrix yelled as he fell to his knees, the crumbling surface causing him to loose his balance. He looked down as a great crack appeared underneath him. He followed it with his eyes as it ran along what remained of the roof, heading strait for Bob and Dot. The crack disappeared under Bob before hitting the stone piece that Dot clung to. With a large plume of dust and a loud snap, Dot disappeared from view. 

"No!" Matrix yelled as he watched Bob leap from his position, the large crack having loosened the roof's hold on his foot. Then like an unending nightmare, he turned his eyes in time to see another fissure swallow AndrAIa whole. 

******* 

"Whoa!" Hack pointed up as a large object hurled toward them as they continued their assent toward the roof. 

"Watch it!" Slash said as they dodged the falling debris. 

"Was that was I think it was?" Hack questioned as he looked down to where the large blue metallic object continued to fall into the darkness. 

"I hope not." Slash turned his eyes back to the roof. 

"What if it was! Should we go back?" Hack nervously asked. 

" Uhm, go back for what?" Slash played dumb. 

"Ye…yeah! Go back for what? I did not see anything." Hack caught on. 

"Me neither." 

******* 

Megabyte silently cursed the two robot traitors as he fell past them in the unending darkness. He would make sure they paid for that betrayal, if he survived this mess of course. The thought of it all ending, his struggle for power and dominance, frightened Megabyte more than the thought of deletion. He refused to believe for a nano that he wouldn't make it out of this. He always did, and he always would. As he caught a glimpse of what waited for him below, he let a slow laugh slip past a growing razor smile. Besides, what would the net be like with out the presence of the virus Megabyte? 

******** 

"Sir! The building is collapsing in on itself!" Tiggs called over the vid-window from his CPU. 

"Oh dear." Phong scratched his beard for a moment. "Is the med team in the sector?" 

"Ready and waiting a safe distance from the collapse zone, Sir." Tiggs responded. 

"Very good." 

"Sir? Should we go in after the group?" 

"No." Phong said after a long pause. All of the remaining CPUs were needed to keep the ABCs occupied. The wounded from the battle were still coming in, and they had suffered four casualties already. "No, it is too risky. Just keep those ABCs away from the building." 

"Yes sir." Tiggs saluted with a lack of enthusiasm. He understood Phong's reasoning in the matter, but he still didn't like the order he had given. Tiggs turned off the vid-window and turned to what was left of the CPU battalion 342 and gave the order with a heavily burdened conscious. 

****** 

"Dot!" Bob called into the dark chasm as he leapt to her with his arm outstretched. His eyes searched the empty darkness as his hand grasped at the air. There had been no sound, no scream, and now there was no Dot. 

"AndrAIa!" Matrix called out to the plume of dust that now occupied the space where AndrAIa had knelt just nanos before. He was frozen in his movements and thoughts. Ray's voice calling to him to get onto Baud did not reach the distant part of his mind that his awareness had fallen into. He continued to stare blankly at the empty spot on the roof as his body sank into the darkness of the collapsing building, Ray's call becoming even more distant. 

"Going my way?" Hack's voice brought Matrix back to virtual reality. Hack scooped Matrix up from the darkness and flew out of the crumbling structure. 

"What?" Matrix shot his eyes up at Hack. "AndrAIa! We have to go back!" 

"Hi lover." AndrAIa shot Matrix a smile from her position in Hack's other arm. 

"AndrAIa!" Matrix gave her a large smile as he moved his arms toward her. 

"Hey! Quit squirming!" Hack looked down at the two sprites in his arms. "You two are not as light as you used to be!" 

"My hero." Matrix smirked. Then another thought hit the large green sprite. "Dot! Dot fell into the hole too!" 

"Yes, she did." Slash replied as he flew up next to Hack. "But I did catch her." 

"Hi." Dot said softly as she looked up at Matrix and AndrAIa. 

"Imagine running into you two here." Bob smirked from Slash's other arm. Bob gave a small wave to Matrix and AndrAIa who both returned a small smile and laugh. 

"What about Megabyte. You must have seen him too?" Matrix asked. 

"Megabyte? Uhm no." Hack answered and looked at Slash. 

"Yes, that is defiantly a negatory on a Big Ugly sighting." Slash replied. 

"How about we save this nice little reunion until after we land on the ground?" Mouse suggested as she and Ray flew up to the two bots and their passengers. 

"Good idea, Sir Ma'am!" Hack and Slash both replied, wanting to get far away from that building and where they had last seen Big Ugly. 

******* 

"Are there any injured among you?" The med-numeral asked as the group landed beside the med-carriers. 

"Yes, Dot is injured." Bob answered. 

"I'm fine, Bob." Dot crossed her arms slightly, despite the burning pain from the scratches on her legs. Megabyte's last grip had left deep gouges that now bled down onto her shoe. 

"It will only take a nano to treat that, Sir Ma'am." The med-numeral pointed at Dot's bleeding ankle, used to her stubborn nature when it came to treatment. After a small nod from Dot, the numeral four set out at repairing the scratch. 

"There she goes." Mouse pointed up as the top floors of Circon Industries began fall down onto the floors below. The great rumble created by the falling tower echoed through the sector, vibrating in the files of each sprite. 

"Cover your eyes, please." The med-numeral said as he stood away from Dot's ankle. 

"Why?" Matrix looked down at the small numeral. 

"Because of that, mate." Ray answered as he nodded toward a great wave of dust and debris that headed their way. 

"Oh." Matrix blinked at the sight before shielding his eyes against the coming storm. The dust plume that made its way as far as the med-team had set up was minimal compared to the hurricane of dust and debris that occurred at ground zero. After a few nanos of howling wind and choking dirt, the air cleared and the med-numeral once again knelt down beside Dot's ankle. 

"Wasn't that fun." Mouse shook her head, causing dirt to fall from her hair. 

"That tasted wonderful." Bob smirked, coughing slightly to clear the dust from his throat. 

"I've had better." Matrix gruffed out the small joke as he swept dirt from his shirt. 

"You are dirty." Slash pointed at Hack. 

"You are not so clean yourself." Hack pointed at Slash. 

"Good point." Slash nodded 

"I think my gears are clogged with dust." Hack pounded on his head slightly as a bit of dust fell from underneath his armor. 

"Oh, let me help buddy!" Slash began hitting Hack in the head and watched as the dust continued to fall from his metal frame. 

"Hey! Not so hard!" Hack hit Slash in the back of the head to return the favor. 

"I'm going to be picking plaster chips from my hair for seconds!" AndrAIa scratched her head. "and it itches too." 

"Not as bad as web-mites." Ray cut in as he wiped off the lenses of his goggles. 

"Dot?" Bob looked over to Dot as the rest of the group continued to discuss their now dirty state. He watched her for a moment as she stared almost expectantly at where the tall building had once stood. The med-numeral finished fixing her wound and left to look over the others. Bob knew what Dot was looking for. "Dot?" 

"Oh, I'm fine." Dot looked over at Bob, answering his question before he had time to ask it. She gave him a distant smile as he walked over and wiped some of the dust from her face. After a moment locked in his brown eyes, she looked up at the debris of documents, plaster chips, and particles that continued to float down to the ground around them. In another circumstance, the floating debris may have actually been almost pretty. She took Bob's hand in her own, making herself hold on to that small idea of beauty amongst the disaster around them. The moment ended as Matrix called out to the group. 

"I don't believe it!" He growled and cursed before pointing over to the clearing plumes of dust. In amongst the twisted medal and shards of stone that made up the remains of the building hovered Megabyte's personal ABC. 

"I do." Dot said softly, almost to herself. Bob squeezed her hand as her words brought forth the feeling of an unending nightmare between those he cared about and the virus that refused to stay buried. 

"It may just be the commander. It doesn't mean he survived." AndrAIa looped one of her arms through Matrix's arm to try and calm him. 

"It was quite the fall, darlin." Mouse added in as she continued to pick debris out of her hair. She batted Ray's hand away as he picked a few chips out of her hair with a smirk. Mouse avoided looking at him so she wouldn't feel inclined to return a smile she didn't have at the moment. 

"Ya." Ray sighed as he crossed his arms and looked at the back of Mouse's head. Before he could add in another sentence, numerous vid-windows popped up around the sector. After a moment of static, a deep throated and darkly sinister chuckle filled the quiet air. 

"I win." Megabyte forced a smile to spread itself across his lips, despite the fact that he was about to fall unconscious. "It was a nice try, Guardian, but I still win." 

"Spammit." Matrix cursed under his breath again, although he didn't fail to see what a battered state Megabyte was in. 

"The hunt will still go on, citizens of Mainframe, so prepare yourselves. Well, as much as you can prepare for deletion, that is." He chuckled again, then glared darkly into the vid-window. "I look forward to our next meeting." He knew the person he intended would get the message as he shut off the vid-window after another dark laugh. 

"Oh no!" Hack nearly fainted. 

"This is bad." Slash shook his head, the rest of his parts shaking slightly. 

"This is all your fault!" Hack's own parts shook violently. 

"How?" Slash raised an eyebrow. 

"I haven't figured that out yet buddy." Hack answered. 

"Oh." Slash scratched the top of his head for a moment. "Please let me know when you do." 

"Alrighty." Hack nodded. 

"He may have survived, but he's in bad shape." AndrAIa shook her head, feeling the tenseness of Matrix's muscles. 

"Will it never end?" Matrix sighed and looked down at AndrAIa who could offer no answer. 

"Dot?" Bob squeezed the silent sprite's hand and waited for acknowledgment. 

"He won." She sighed as she felt a sob rising in her chest. "He won again." 

"Its ok, Dot." Bob turned her to face him and gave her a small smile. 

"The past three cycles of work have been for nothing." Dot's shoulders rose and fell as she continued to fight back the small sobs. 

"No they haven't, Dot." When she turned her eyes away from him, he lifted her chin with his finger and smiled more deeply at her. "They haven't. We have Phong, the PID locators, and now Megabyte is weak." He looked at her for a long nano before finishing with a fact that the command.com could not refuse. "Megabyte is vulnerable." 

"You're right again, Bob." Dot said after a nano of silence between them. She squeezed his hand and turned to the rest of the circled group. The group looked up at her, waiting for the next move. "Alright then." Dot took in a small breath. "He may have won this round, but now he is weak and vulnerable." 

"So we should strike now." Matrix nodded. 

"Hold it sugah." Mouse stepped forward to address Matrix. "We need to regroup the CPUs first and see exactly what we have left to strike with." Expecting an argument from him, she was surprised when he nodded in agreement. 

"We also need to check in with Phong." Bob added in, ready to pull up a vid-window. 

"Alright then. We will regroup at the diner, a.s.a.p." Dot continued. "Mouse, see if you and Ray can locate your ship." 

"Way ahead of you darlin." Mouse nodded. 

"We'll have no problem locating it, luv." Ray leaned slightly on Baud as he watched Mouse's ever so slight reaction to the "we'll" part. It was slight, but it was still there. 

"Matrix," Dot looked at her brother. "go to bunker alpha and see how the troops are coming together." 

"Alright." Matrix looked around for a zip board from the med-team. 

"AndrAIa, I need you to go get Enzo and…" Dot stopped as she watched AndrAIa stare up at the debris-filled sky. "AndrAIa?" 

"Are you alright?" Matrix questioned softly as he placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to see what exactly she was looking at. 

"I don't know. Its odd." AndrAIa tilted her head and continued to watch the falling debris. Her game-sprite senses were tingling and filling her mind with something she couldn't grasp. "Something has happened, something strange." 

"Like what?" Bob halted in his actions to call up Phong. 

"I don't know." AndrAIa shielded her eyes from the falling particles as she continued to look up at what the others couldn't see. "But something is coming." 

******** 

Phong sat in silence with his eyes focused on the vid-window display after listening to Megabyte announce his victory. With a slight adjustment of his glasses, he took in a deep breath and let out a slow sigh. Despite his knowledge filled mind telling him otherwise, he had allowed himself to gain a small amount of hope that Megabyte had been destroyed along with Circon Industries. His mind, however, had been right, and the seemingly never ending battle with the virus continued. Now he waited for word from Bob, and with each passing nano he found himself ever more often adjusting and fidgeting with his glasses. 

"Sir?" The bynome in the lab coat stepped silently up to Phong with a black digi-pad offered from one hand. 

"Yes, my child?" Phong looked up at the bynome with another adjustment of his glasses. The bynome reminded him of Specky, who was still stuck inside of the principle office. 

"Sir, we have some strange readings coming in from the game departure analysis." 

"We do?" Phong tilted his head before taking the digi-pad and giving it a quick glance. "Oh, We do." Phong nodded slightly. 

"Sir, do you know what it means?" The bynome waited to see if Phong could answer what his own science team had not been able to. 

"Well…" Phong stroked his beard for a moment as he thought over the readings on the pad. Something in his mind kept hinting that he had seen such readings before, but it had been so long ago. As the haze in his aging memory cleared to reveal the answer he sought, his eyes grew ever wider with his mouth opening in a sudden realization. "Oh dear." 

******** 

Binary connections, integrated circuitry, algorithmic equations, command lines, protocols, and parameters; these are the basics of a program. A program is created by another entity to carry out a defined function, its very existence planned out in its entirety from the very beginning. When given a defined AI, the program gains a new definition to its protocol. There in lies the possibility for the program to grow. A simple program credited for a certain purpose now gains the ability to reorganize itself and develop beyond its original intent. The ability to develop its own self identity arises. When does a program break free of its creator's intent? When does a program cease being a program? What does it take to divide the line between a program and a self identified entity? 

******* 

"Something is coming." AndrAIa kept her eyes focused on the debris that continued to float softly down to the dirt and ash covered ground. A shimmering glint in amongst the suet covered debris danced with the reflection of the morning light. AndrAIa's eyes followed it closely as it neared the group, its direction controlled by an unfelt breeze. An eerie silence hung over the small circle of sprites as each began to see what AndrAIa's eyes were focused on. "There." She said simply with a small gesture of her hand. 

"I see it." Dot watched as the small glimmering object floated slowly in the air. 

"So do I, but what is it?" Matrix shielded his eyes to the morning light. He and AndrAIa turned with the rest of the sprites to face the center of the circle as the object landed in the dust with a last glimmer of light. The eerie silence returned over the circle of sprites as they each stared at the object. The silence continued as they began to look to each other for some type of explanation. All eyes quickly returned to the object in the dust, however, as it began to blink with a light blue luminescent flicker. 

"I don't believe it." Dot blinked and broke the silence of the group as she slowly took step toward the object to get a better look. 

****** 

"All hail Lord Megabyte as he returns victorious!" Lt. Chauncy made himself the most vocal in his praise as Megabyte's ABC landed in the docking bay of the P.O. 

"All Hail!" The viral bynomes cheered as their lord returned. The looks on the faces of the viral bynomes hid their understanding that their great lord had almost lost. 

"Lt. Chauncy, " Megabyte gruffly made the words pass over his weak lips. "begin preparations for the hunt." Megabyte stood tall as he walked through the control room toward the lab bay, refusing to appear injured to the minions before him. 

"Immediately, Sir!" Chauncy saluted as he watched Megabyte and the heir doctor disappear into the lab. Unsure if Megabyte had received news that it had been his order to fire on the building, Chauncy decided to get in another word of praise. "All hail Lord Megabyte and his victory in the forthcoming hunt!" 

"All hail!" The viral bynomes filled the P.O. with their cheers and anxiousness for the hunt. With all the commotion, celebration, and preparations going on in the P.O., no one seemed to take notice of the strange blinking energy indicator on the Systems Status screen. No one except Specky, but what would he have to gain from telling the viral enemies that surrounded him. After reading the strange energy readings again, he silently shut the visual on the vid widow off and began thinking on how to use his no longer droned state to his advantage. 

****** 

"Dot, what's going on?" Bob followed closely behind Dot as she moved closer toward the blinking object. 

"I'm not sure, Bob." Dot turned to face him and the rest of the group who had all walked over to hear what she had to say. 

"Dot, honey, isn't that the PDi Phong and I were working on in the test lab?" Mouse eyed the object for another nano before turning to the rest of the group. 

"PDi?" Matrix raised an eyebrow at Mouse. 

"Program Designation icon." Dot spoke slowly as she thought. 

"And what exactly is that?" Bob scratched the top of his head slightly. 

"Well, Darlin, " Mouse took over, noticing that Dot was deep in thought. "Its like the PIDs, but its designed to carry and register system connected programs like A.v.A." 

"Well is it supposed to be blinking like that?" Matrix asked. 

"Not that I'm aware of." Mouse furrowed her brow as she thought. 

"The why is it?" Ray asked as he leaned on Baud. 

"Your guess is as good as mine, sugah." Mouse replied. 

"How does this explain the strange feelings I'm getting?" AndrAIa asked herself, but loud enough for everyone to hear. 

"Good question." Bob glanced back over to the object. 

"Maybe it's a trap. One of Megabyte's little surprises." Matrix crossed his arms. 

"Good point." Bob nodded. He didn't feel like he was being very helpful as he surveyed the situation. 

"Why would it be a trap, mate?" 

"Well, why not." Matrix gave Ray a stern look. "Anything can be a trap." 

"More like everything." Ray rolled his eyes beneath his goggles. 

"What exactly is that supposed to mean." Matrix fumed. 

"Would you two stop it." AndrAIa sighed. 

"Well he started it." Matrix replied. 

"I didn't start anything. It was a perfectly reasonable question." Ray shot back. 

"Oh for User's sake you two." Mouse put both hands on her hips. 

"You push da button." Hack said quietly as he and Slash stood away from the rest of the group. The looked over the small round PDi that lay blinking in the dust. 

"I'm not going to do that again." Slash replied. 

"You're still mad about that?" 

"Yup." 

"Oh." 

"Its kind of pretty." 

"Yah, all blue…and…" 

"Blue and blinky." 

"Oh yes." 

"Hey, why don't you push da button?" Slash glanced up at Hack. 

"Do I look crazy to you?" 

"I'm not even going to answer that." 

"Wha…hey!" Hack crossed his arms. 

"I said nothing." 

"Yah, but you thought it." 

"So." 

"So….so…oh just push da button!" 

"No." 

"Wait, " Hack scratched the top of his head. 

"Waiting…" Slash drummed his fingers. 

"I have an idea." 

"Uh-oh." 

"Give me your hand." 

"Uhm, ok." Slash unscrewed his hand and held it out to Hack. "Here you go 

buddy." 

"Doh!" Hack rolled his eyes. "Must you take everything I say so literally!" 

"What?" 

"Pppput that thing back on!" Hack stuttered out of anger and disgust. "That is so gross." 

"What ever." Slash rolled his eyes and screwed his hand back on. 

"Now…" Hack took a hold of Slash's hand. 

"What are you doing pal?" Slash raised an eyebrow. 

"Getting you to push da button!" Before Slash could react, Hack slammed Slash's hand down on the icon, double clicking it. For a moment, the icon lay still. Then without warning it sprang to life and sent a cascade of light across the dusty air. 

"Look what you did." Hack shook his head at Slash. 

"That is so unfair." Slash held his head in both hands. 

"Boys, stay frosty! We have more to worry about then who's ego is bigger." AndrAIa frowned. 

"He's the one acting like a basic." Matrix frowned at being chided like a child. 

"Guys?" Bob tried to interject. 

"Basic! At lease I'm not paranoid about everything, mate!" Ray crossed his arms, then dropped them to his sides when he noticed the look Mouse was giving him. 

"Boys! I'm trying to think!" Dot fumed. 

"Uhm, guys…" Bob tried again to get everyone's attention. 

"Sorry, Sis." Matrix gave in. 

"Ya, sorry." Ray sighed, still flinching from Mouse's evil look. 

"Hey guys! Woo-hoo…over here!" Bob franticly waved his arms. 

"What?" They all looked up to him. 

"I think its doing something" Bob, glad to finally get everyone's attention, pointed toward Hack, Slash, and the icon with its new light show. 

"He did it!" Both bots yelled in unison and pointed at each other. 


	11. The Arrival

**Chapter 11: **

"Bob!" The voice of Phong rang through Bob's video device on Glitch. "Come in Bob!" 

"Uhm, Phong, " Bob looked down to Phong for a moment. "can I get back to you?" 

"I have important news! We have encountered some strange readings from the game departure analysis, and although I could not quite put my digit on it to start with, I think I have figured it out and I…" 

"Phong?" Bob shook his head. 

"Yes, my child?" Phong tilted his head. 

"We know." 

"But how could you possibly know this information?" Phong stoked his beard in contemplation at the strangeness of the situation. Bob gave Phong a better view of the situation as he switched the vid-window from Glitch to a larger format in mid-air. Phong's jaw opened wide as he watched the readings from the planner come to life in amongst the dust and a cascading lightshow. "Oh…I see." 

"Alphanumeric!" Enzo popped into the vid-window from behind Phong. "Bob! What's that?" 

"That? Well uhm…that…that is…" Bob scratched his head as they all stood and waited for the PDI to finish doing whatever it was that it was doing. 

"You have no idea." Enzo smirked. 

"Not a clue." Bob almost laughed. 

"I do, darlin." Mouse finally spoke up after being silent for a while. She had seen this same light show earlier that morning. 

"Please, enlighten us child." Phong spoke. 

"That PDi, " Mouse glanced over at Ray for a small moment, then refocused her eyes back on the cascading lights as they began to take on a distinct patter in the dust. "is formatting something." 

"Formatting." Bob raised one eyebrow and lowered the other in a rather comical expression of confusion. "What do you mean, formatting?" 

"Yah, how is it formatting something? Formatting is a program function." Matrix added in, displaying his usually hidden program knowledge. 

"I think the more important question, mates, is what its formatting." Ray too had recognized the formatting sequence that the PDi now displayed. Like Baud, the PDi was taking digital information and reformatting it into some type of physical information, like an interface. 

"Its so pretty!" Slash gazed at the beams of light as they traced back and forth in a new pattern. The beams moved up and down in the air, creating a digital image that was just beginning to take the resemblance of a discernable shape.

"Pretty? It could be dangerous! It could explode! All you can say is pretty?!" Hack waved his arms in the air franticly.

"Well it is pretty." 

"I told you not to push the button, but no, you just had to push it." 

"I wonder what its making." Slash didn't care to hear a word Hack said. 

"I don't think I want to know!" 

"Oh! It changed colors!" The light switched from the soft blue to a bright yellow. 

"Wonderful." Hack said in a slightly frightened voice. 

"Oh, yes. This Yellow is even prettier!" 

"What?!" Hack looked at Slash as if he was the biggest null-brain in MainFrame. 

"I said the yellow was even prettier." 

"This is all your fault." 

"Why am I not surprised." 

"I still think it's a trap." Matrix spoke quietly as he watched the PDi do whatever it was that it was doing. 

"Don't start that again, mate." Ray rolled his eyes. 

"Well, fearless leader, should we contain it?" Bob turned from Phong and realized Dot didn't hear a word he said. He watched as she slowly approached the formatting light, which now appeared to be making an armature frame of some type. Bob raised an eyebrow as he realized what that armature resembled. Bob looked to Dot to see the same realization come across her face. "Dot?" 

"Impossible." Dot shook her head in a soft mutter. 

********* 

"I do say Binky, this ship is harder to find then I imagined." Algernon surveyed the dust covered streets in search of Mouse's ship. 

"Yes, quite, Sir." Binky agreed. 

"Would be easier if everything wasn't the same color." He sighed and looked around at the mono-toned grayness of the dust for the building collapse. 

"Indeed, Sir." Binky peered through the thick air. 

"Quite the clean up job we will have on our hands." 

"Oh yes, quite." Binky nodded, then pointed toward a large mass of metal covered in ash and debris. 

"Oh! There it is." Algernon began to make his way toward Mouse's ship, or at least what they hoped was her ship. A glint on the metal caught his eye. "I do say Binky, what do you make of that?" Binky looked across the dust covered sector to a large show of lights. After a suddenly blinding flash of radiant energy light, the sector fell dark to the normal morning light again. All Binky could offer in response was a wide-eyed shrug. 

********* 

"Dot!" Bob flinched against the blinding light as he and the others shielded their eyes. The energy burst cut off the vid-window as the sector lost power for a brief nano. His first thought was that it had formatted a weapon that had just taken Dot away from him again. That, however, would not be the sight that his eyes opened to. 

"What in the net?" AndrAIa took a few steps forward before being stopped by Matrix's outstretched arm. 

"Does that look like a trap to you, mate?" Ray questioned Matrix. 

"Bob! Is everyone alright?" Phong said as the vid-window came back online. 

"Hey! What's going on! C'mon! Move! We cant see! Please!" Enzo called through the vid-window, distressed to see that everyone was block his and Phong's view. 

"Dot?" Bob took a few steps toward her as she stood staring at what the PDi had finally formatted. 

"Impossible." Dot repeated as she slowly raised a hand toward it's unmoving face. 

******* 

"Lord Meg-n-byte-n!" The doctor stumbled into the darkened lab, the open door letting a flood of light into the chamber. 

"Close the door, heir Doctor." Megabyte winced at the sudden bright glare in the room. 

"Oh yes!" The doctor scrambled into the room quickly and closed the door behind him. He gazed about the dim room as his eye adjusted. The only light in the room came from the flickering screen of vid-window. "I am believing that I have developed a way to fix your infection." 

"Which one…" Megabyte asked rhetorically as he stared at the readouts that ran across the screen of the blue vid-window. When no reply came from the doctor who was unsure of how to respond, a small smirk slithered its way across Megabyte's face. "As you were saying, heir Doctor?" 

"Oh yes." The doctor was glad to have Megabyte's first questioned left unanswered. "I believe the solution lies with a binary purge, Lord Meg-n-byte-n. It will be lengthy, and quite painful, " the doctor paused for a reaction, then continued when he received only a nod. "but it should prove successful." 

"And it will completely rid me of this…A.v.A. ?" Megabyte raised an eyebrow slowly as he continued to stare at the screen in front of him. His speech was slowed and filled with inflections of pain from what remained of A.v.A. The screen brought a second line of input up that caused Megabyte to laugh slightly. 

"We have also received some strange readings from sector KIT." The doctor continued as he tried to make out what Megabyte was looking at. "A few energy fluctuations, and something odd has just been registered within the system." 

"I know." Megabyte glared at the screen as it displayed what the Doctor was discussing. The new registered element in the system had gained great interest from the virus. It could be used as an advantage if it could be controlled. If it could not, then it would have to be destroyed. Megabyte found himself marveling at the mixture of simplicity and complexity that existed in this new entity. The power contained with in it made him smile darkly as he began to think of ways to harness it. 

"So you know what it is?" The Doctor pressed through Megabyte's deep thoughts, hungry for an answer to the puzzle on the screen. 

"Indeed." Megabyte turned his eyes slowly toward the Doctor, but did not fully answer his question before turning his eyes back to the screen. "And it will be mine." 

********* 

"Don't touch it, Dot!" Matrix had his hand on Gun, ready for anything. 

"Sparky…" AndrAIa did her best to ease his tension by wrapping an arm around his waist. "Its just a child." 

"You don't know that." Matrix glanced down at AndrAIa for a nano before turning his eyes back to the figure. 

"Well ill be nullified." Mouse blinked a few times at the child that now stood in silent stillness where the lightshow had been moments before. 

"Impossible." Dot reached out an softly touched the shoulder of the child. The child did not react to the touch, but instead it remained staring blankly forward. The female child stood a little over four feet, its yellow skin enhanced by the increasing day light. Her dark blue hair drifted to the small of her back as her mused pink bangs hung lightly over her forehead and left eye. Her blue lips were expressionless as the blue irises of her eyes remained still. 

"Well, believe it, luv." Ray ran a hand thru his hair, still not quite believing it himself. 

"Sugah, is that what I think it is?" Mouse slowly walked to where Bob and Dot stood next to the figure. 

"I think so." Dot shook her head. 

"Mind letting us in on this?" Bob was struck by the situation, but not surprised by it. With all he had been through, he didn't think anything could surprise him now. 

"Hey, Big Me! Your blocking my view!" Enzo called from the vid-window. 

"Bob, " Dot shook her head again, as if not believing what she was about to say. "that's A.v.A." 

"How is that possible?" Bob raised an eyebrow. 

"Physical format, mate." Ray leaned on Baud nonchalantly, as if this was old news to him. 

"Yes, but how is that possible?" He looked to Ray. Ray started to say something, but then came up blank. 

"The game?" Mouse looked to Dot. 

"I ….I guess." Dot touched the child again. "It looks like the game didn't complete it, though." Dot looked almost disappointed that such a miraculous thing had happened only to have it not work completely. 

"So let me get this strait." Bob ran a hand through his hair as he continued to survey the situation. "The game somehow took the PDi that you gave A.v.A. and created a…a…" 

"A physical interface." Ray completed. 

"A physical interface." Bob nodded. 

"Yeah, but a physical interface for what?" Matrix raised an eyebrow, his hand no longer resting on gun, but near by, 

"To A.v.A., I suppose, Darlin." Mouse put on hand on her hip as she thought. "We created it to be a fully interfaced program…though not physically…but with commands and an integrated AI. " 

"Commands!" Dot snapped her fingers. "of course." 

"Bob! Please, what is happening?" Phong too was trying to see over Matrix. 

"Phong, I think we should explain this in person." Bob didn't exactly want to try and repeat things he didn't understand himself. "Meet us at the diner." 

"Very well, my child." Phong nodded, slightly disappointed, before turning off the vid-window. 

"Dot, you where saying?" Bob watched as Dot picked up the PDi from the ground and dusted it off. 

"Commands." Dot repeated as she walked back over to the motionless child, her mind in deep planning thought. 

"Of course!" Mouse rolled her eyes at the sudden realization. 

"What do you mean?" AndrAIa tilted her head. 

"Yes, what do you mean?" Hack cut in. 

"Please do explain." Slash nodded 

"Yes, Slash is confused. 

"You are confused too…" 

"I am not." 

"Then explain it to me.." Slash raised an eyebrow. 

"Shhh, you are distracting them." Hack avoided Slash's comment. 

"Oh, sorry." 

"Commands, sugah." Mouse turned to glance back at AndrAIa. "We designed A.v.A. as a program for a key tool that functioned off of line commands." 

"Like Glitch?" Bob looked down at Glitch for a moment. 

"Exactly like Glitch." Mouse nodded. "In fact, the A.v.A. program was designed specifically for Glitch. We planned on integrating it, if Glitch approved of course." 

"Sure Glitch wouldn't mind a new tool command or two." Bob smirked lightly. "Is it still possible now that it has a physical interface?" 

"I suppose, sugah." Mouse turned her eyes back to the physical interface as it stared blankly ahead. "Wont know unless we can get the command lines operational." 

"And all the commands where imprinted on the PDi." Dot completed almost to herself as looked at the PDi in her hand. Her eyes made there way back to the child in front of her as she completed her thoughts. "Without the command lines, this interface is non-functioning." 

"But with them it will work?" Bob tried his best to follow along as Mouse and Dot tried there hand at a basic explanation of something that was obviously more complicated. 

"Only one way to find out." Dot took in a deep breath and placed the PDi onto the shirt of the female child interface. After holding her breath for a moment, Dot let out a deep sigh when nothing happened. The child remained still with her blue eyes faced forward. 

"Well that didn't work." Matrix gruffed out as he again moved his hand away from Gun. 

"We are missing something…" Dot huffed in frustration. 

"A start command?" Bob suggested knowing he probably just sounded like an idiot. 

"A start command!" Dot turned around a gave Bob a quick kiss on the cheek. "Of course. The commands are on the PDi, but they still need the 'initialize' protocol." 

"Initializing." Every one jumped slightly as the female child spoke. "Please stand by." 

"Standing by!" Slash nodded. 

"Standing by for what?" Hack questioned. 

"Good question." Matrix continued to survey the physical interface with an uneasy stance. 

"Easy big guy." AndrAIa smiled up at Matrix who slowly returned the smile. 

"Initialization sequence complete." The child went silent once again for a nano before her eyes began to blink a few times. A small smile slowly made its way across her blue lips as she surveyed her surroundings. Her eyes looked at each of the sprites before her as she turned her small body in a slow circle. After surveying those around her, she turned her eyes on herself. A small flighty giggle made its was past her lips as she moved her hand in front of her face. Her attention drifted again as Dot approached her. 

"A.v.A.?" Dot tilted her head and leaned down so that she was eyelevel with the girl. 

"Hi!" The impish voice that came from the girl and the giggle that followed made Dot smile slightly. A.v.A. waved her small hand at Dot. A.v.A.'s mind wandered again as her eyes became amazed at the way her hand looked when it waved. 

"And I thought id seen just about everything." Ray shook his head slightly. 

"I think we had better get it…uh her…to the diner." Bob found himself smiling as he watched the girl watch her own moving hand. 

"Darlin, will you come to the dinner with us?" Mouse joined Dot in her eyelevel stance with the child. 

"Okay." The girl grinned widely at Mouse for a moment until a piece of floating debris caught her eyes. 

"Dot, are you sure its safe?" Matrix honestly questioned. 

"Too tell you the truth, I'm still not exactly sure what it is." Dot turned her eyes to her brother, then to Bob. "But it is…she is…here." 

"Right. Maybe Phong will have some answers." Bob nodded slightly. 

"I sure hope so honey." Mouse watched as the girl tried to catch the small piece of debris. After giving up on that act, A.v.A. turned her eyes back to the group. 

"Dot?" A.v.A. picked her name out of the conversation that she had been listening to in the back of her mind. 

"Yes?" Dot's eyebrow raised as the child spoke her name. 

"What is a diner anyway?" A.v.A.'s eyes sparkled in the morning light as she patently awaited an answer. 

"So much for your weapon-o-doom, mate." Ray laughed at the look Matrix gave him. 

"I'll explain it on the way, ok?" Dot slowly offered her hand to A.v.A. 

"Okay." A.v.A. looked at the hand for a moment before accepting it with the same large grin as before. 

"Could this minute get any weirder." AndrAIa spoke softly as the group made their way back to the diner for some much needed rest and explanation. 

"Oh please do not ask that." Hack mumbled. 

"Every time some one says that…" Slash caught up with Hack. 

"It gets weirder." Hack completed. 

"Yes indeedy." Slash nodded in agreement. 

------------------------------------------------ 

THE END! 

Want to know exactly what or who A.v.A. is? Confused by Megabyte's present situation? Wondering if the hunt will continue as planned? 

Please look for the sequel The Separation

I know…I'm evil. Cheers! And thanks for reading this Fan-Fic! 


	12. Where did AvA Go?

Where did AvA-181 go?

Hello everyone! It has been quite a few years since I updated any of my Shadow Raiders or ReBoot fanfics or added anything new.

I have been through a whirlwind of changes in my life, including moving to another country, getting married and becoming a published Science Fiction author.

The ReBoot and Shadow Raiders fandom universe will always hold a special place in my heart because it helped to inspire me and lead me down the path to creating my own universe for my book series. I currently have one book in the series published on Amazon, a free short story on my website and the next book is in progress, due to be published in March of 2013.

To learn more about my current publications, you can visit my website: cekilgore . com

I also would love to hear from you through google+, facebook or twitter. There are links to my accounts on my website. I would love to hear what you all have been up too for the past few years.

Cheers!

AvA-181 ( C.E. Kilgore )


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